Oxagon..Turning Desert Oasis, into Mermaid on the Red Sea Shore

At a time when the global economy is panting, trying to gather momentum, following the severe repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing crisis, the Saudi economy have proven that it did not only realize Vision 2030, but also have leaped high above the terrain of all the obstacles, the globe is experiencing, with the announcement of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Oxagon.

It is the first floating industrial city, in the world, launched to become the lung of the desert, giving to the shore of the Red Sea.

In other words, Oxagon is the industrial city of NEOM.

The announcement carried with it unprecedented pledge and promise to protect the environment, by emphasizing that “Oxagon” will be a new model for future cities, and manufacturing centers, embodying NEOM’s vision for the future of sustainable living, giving global industry an opportunity to breathe through this lung, and continue its industrial progress, without harming the planet.

In announcing the emergence of Oxagon, HRH Crown Prince added a new development approach to the world of industrialization, dubbed as the “Blue Economy”, a newly unfurling concept, refers to the sustainable use of ocean and sea resources, in order to realize comprehensive economic growth, improve livelihoods and create jobs, while preserving the ecosystem.

The European Commission defines the “Blue Economy” as “all economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts, covering a wide range of emerging and interconnected sectors.”

As much as the “Blue Economy” aims to improve human lives and promote social justice, it also aims to reduce environmental risks, pay attention to the resource scarcity and reduce behaviors that lead to climate change.

The “Blue Economy” acts as a catalyst for developing policies, investment and innovation in support of food security, poverty reduction and sustainable management of water resources, by preserving aquatic life, and promoting policies and best practices for the responsible and sustainable cultivation of fish, shellfish and marine plants, in addition to providing ecosystem services aimed at strengthening regulatory systems and mechanisms for restoration of coastal biotopes and biodiversity.

Oxagon applies the “Blue Economy” by integrating land-based innovations with sustainable technologies, relying on water, and not limiting development and innovation to land, but rather creating a new space for creativity and innovation, through urban development of more than 10,000 km, in the sea.

The city of “Oxagon” does not seek to be an industrial city like any or all other conventional industrial cities, mushrooming this globe, rather it has a different footprint against its counterparts, in which it inspires the future and stimulates as well, instead of resembling other cities full of chaos and pollution.

Oxagon will act, similarly, as a lung in the body, that supplies the organs with oxygen, hence the naming-wisdom.

Its eastern connection to the desert and entry, on the other hand, of 10 square kilometers into the sea water, is like breathing from the heart of the desert to the world, specifically through the in-sea projects it seeks to embrace.

It will be a global center for the “Blue Economy”, as an emerging quest to develop water resources and reduce land use for industrial purposes.

Oxagon also keeps pace with the Kingdom’s trends and NEOM’s vision of sustainability.

An overview of the seven sectors that Oxagon will focus on as the main prerequisites, we will lead us to find that they center around sustainable energy, autonomous (smart) mobility, water technology innovation, sustainable food production, health and wellbeing, technology and digital manufacturing (including space technology and automation), and modern methods of construction and reconstruction.

This is an affirmation of its quest for sustainability, preservation of the environment and interest in creating an educational, research and creative system, that vigorously and rigorously competes with the most prestigious world recognized class centers.