The Scoop
Oxagon — NEOM’s industrial city and the site of Saudi Arabia’s $8.5 billion green hydrogen project — is in talks to build a one-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center, its chief executive officer told Semafor.
The first 400-megawatt phase could be signed this year, Vishal Wanchoo said, declining to disclose the name of the potential company Oxagon is negotiating with. The data center will be powered by renewables and backup batteries, setting it apart from the largely fossil-fueled facilities in the region. “They are looking at very innovative cooling technology to be able to reduce the energy consumption,” Wanchoo said in an interview at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh.
Oxagon is also expanding its port facilities, aiming to handle 1.5 million ton equivalent units (TEUs) by 2026, with potential for further expansion to 12 million TEUs after 2030, nearing the size of Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port. Saudi Arabia has committed 15 billion riyals ($4 billion) to the port project, he said, and it can already accommodate large vessels and support construction of The Line in NEOM.
Know More
By 2030, Oxagon — which is focused on attracting companies in advanced and clean industries — is expected to host 25,000 residents, revised down from earlier projections of 90,000, Wanchoo said. Offshore expansion plans, including a potential floating manufacturing district, are on hold until the port and onshore manufacturing capabilities are fully established. “It’s got to be economically feasible for us to do that,” he said. “We are also looking at other cities that are developing on a smaller scale, like Busan in South Korea.”
The city is also negotiating with several renewable energy manufacturers to establish production facilities for solar and wind components. The Public Investment Fund and Vision Vest — owned by Al Muhaidib Group Abunayyan Holding — are in “advanced discussions” to build factories, he said. China’s Envision Energy Co. is already suppling blades and turbines to NEOM, he said, and will be involved in the Oxagon factories.
The city’s first housing complex, Oxagon Hive, opens next week, welcoming 500 residents by year-end. Built using modular 3D volumetric construction — where modular units are manufactured in a factory and stacked on site — the compound will eventually house 3,000 people. The units were shipped from Malaysia, and there are companies looking to set up manufacturing plants in Oxagon, he said.
“It’s amazing to see how these buildings go up,” Wanchoo said. “It’s literally done in days.”