Sindalah is set to be the first destination open to the public in Neom, the $500 billion megacity project planned by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, already one of the world's most ambitious sustainable urban developments.
The island resort will be spread over approximately 840,000 square metres, with one of the main aims of the development being to conserve natural beauty — one of Neom's central themes.
"I would call it the jewel of the Red Sea," Peter Fitzhardinge, the director of marketing and sales at Neom Tourism told The National. "It is surrounded by magnificent corals, turquoise waters and magnificent views back over Neom's mainland.
"It is perfectly positioned to draw the world here and we will draw the world here based on our beauty and our development."
Saudi Arabia is trying to boost tourism revenue as part of its Vision 2030, a multi-sector initiative aimed at diversifying the country's economy, from grassroots reform in education to high-profile projects such as Neom.
This month, Prince Mohammed said: “This is another significant moment for Neom and a major step in the kingdom realising its tourism ambitions under Vision 2030.
"Sindalah will be Neom’s first luxury island and yacht club destination in the Red Sea, providing a scenic gateway to the Red Sea that will become the region’s most exciting and attractive tourism location.
"It will be a destination where travellers can experience the true beauty of Neom and Saudi Arabia, above and below the water, making Sindalah the future of luxury travel," he said.
What is Sindalah and when will it be open to public?
The resort will include luxury hotels and a large marina, beach club, yacht club, spa and wellness centre as well as 51 luxury retail outlets.
Sindalah is set to feature 413 premium rooms across three luxury hotels, as well as 88 villas, 333 serviced apartments, nine fine-dining restaurants, nine casual restaurants, some with rooftop lounges.
Sindalah is set to open early in 2024, said Mr Fitzhardinge. The island is expected to receive 2,400 visitors a day by 2028. About 3,500 jobs are expected to be created in the process.
"What I am most excited about is it will be the first tourism asset which will be opened in Neom, in the Neom way of tourism," says Mr Fitzhardinge. He said he was excited by the opportunity to welcome the first visitors.
Sindalah will offer activities including kayaking, kite surfing, water skiing and scuba diving.
What will Sindalah offer and how easy is it to get there?
"When you think of Neom, which will soon open to the world and Saudi Arabia, which is now open to the world, these are new regions the world wants to come to explore. This is very strong for us," Mr Fitzhardinge says.
Equally the coastline, islands and aquatic side to Neom are among its strongest assets. With the country opening up to foreign tourism, Mr Fitzhardinge believes this will be "a very strong lure for the world to come here. Sindalah sits very much in the middle of that."
Chris Newman, hotel development executive director at Sindalah, said the island would be exciting, with a lot happening including food and shopping festivals, sports events, "plus promotional events, the beach club, golf course, yachting events and so on".
He said initially, Sindalah anticipates 70 per cent of visitors will come from within the GCC. As the "destination matures and word spreads, that will change and we can expect people from around the world to make the journey." Forty per cent of the world's population will be able to fly to Neom within six hours by plane.
Antoni Vives, chief urban planning officer of Neom, said: "When we talk about connectivity, we look at the fact that Neom is just three or four hours away on a plane from the big capital cities of Europe. Then 40 per cent of the world is just six hours away. In Neom itself, people will be able to go from Sindalah to The Line easily — with a population of more than one million by 2030."
What were the challenges while building Sindalah?
"I see challenges as opportunities, we are taught that from a young age. For us it was an opportunity start from scratch, a blank canvas. I don't see anything holding us back, perhaps the only challenge is ourselves, limits of vision," says Mr Fitzhardinge.
Italian luxury yacht architect Luca Dini is the mastermind behind the design with over 25 years of experience.
"He is an extraordinary talent almost bigger than life gentleman — almost a coup and a great statement for Sindalah that we have one of the greatest yachting designers in the world designing it," says Mr Fitzhardinge.
How does sustainability play a part?
"Nothing is done in Neom without sustainability and environment at the centre, it just doesn't happen," Mr Fitzhardinge says. "If there is a compromise, it doesn't go through. From how we use energy, since we use renewables, Neom will be home to the largest solar energy, it is very much reliant upon that as well as desalination and green hydrogen, which is the future. The environment is key. The pristine waters, sea and wildlife, every step is taken that the environment is looked after."
Only electric vehicles will be used in Sindalah.
The clean energy strategy is firmly at the core of Neom projects as the city will be run by renewable energy. Neom aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.
Honeymoonish
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The%20Sandman
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Scoreline
Bournemouth 2
Wilson 70', Ibe 74'
Arsenal 1
Bellerin 52'
Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
THE 12 BREAKAWAY CLUBS
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 2 Bournemouth 1
United: Sharp (45 2'), Lundstram (84')
Bournemouth: C Wilson (13')
Man of the Match: Jack O’Connell (Sheffield United)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
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MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
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BRAZIL%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EGoalkeepers%3A%20Alisson%2C%20Ederson%2C%20Weverton%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EDefenders%3A%20Dani%20Alves%2C%20Marquinhos%2C%20Thiago%20Silva%2C%20Eder%20Militao%20%2C%20Danilo%2C%20Alex%20Sandro%2C%20Alex%20Telles%2C%20Bremer.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EMidfielders%3A%20Casemiro%2C%20Fred%2C%20Fabinho%2C%20Bruno%20Guimaraes%2C%20Lucas%20Paqueta%2C%20Everton%20Ribeiro.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EForwards%3A%20Neymar%2C%20Vinicius%20Junior%2C%20Richarlison%2C%20Raphinha%2C%20Antony%2C%20Gabriel%20Jesus%2C%20Gabriel%20Martinelli%2C%20Pedro%2C%20Rodrygo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
PETER%20PAN%20%26%20WENDY
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Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
India squads
T20: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur
Test: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
