Executives at Saudi Crown Prince Neom's mega-project have invited bankers and investors to a meeting in New York next month as they try to attract international interest in their $500 billion plan to build a high-tech hub from scratch. NEOM's chief executive Nadhmi Al-Nasr and financial sector chief Layth Al-Shaiban are scheduled to attend the event in early April.

Invitations to the gathering have been sent to private equity firms, bankers and construction suppliers to gauge interest in the project. Another person familiar with the matter said it could be one of a series of events in several U.S. cities, with similar events taking place in London last year. NEOM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NEOM, announced in 2017, is the crown jewel of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to overhaul the economy of the world's largest oil exporter. His plan to turn a remote area on the Red Sea coast northwest of the kingdom into a high-tech hub full of robots contains key elements of Vision 2030 to rid the country of crude oil, ease social restrictions and boost investment. "Explore and discuss the significant market opportunities NEOM represents, and discuss how we can support your business plan through meaningful partnerships and investment opportunities." Keywords: Engineering Construction, Engineering News

Executives will share details of NEOM's "unique vision of urban design," including a car-free linear city, an industrial development floating on the Red Sea, and a mountain ski resort with an artificial lake, the invitation said. Renewable energy output, although progress so far has been largely limited to earthworks. NEOM has hired more than 1,000 people to move to remote areas and plan the economic and urban design of new areas - including former executives from Buoy Ho, General Electric and Germany's RWE.Editor/XingWentao