Reimagined cities put a new spin on mobility in Saudi Arabia

For urban planners in the mid-20th century, the future of urban transport was the motor vehicle. As more people moved to cities, the answer was to build more roads. Highways looped around the suburbs and funneled people into city centers where businesses paid a premium for offices next to multi-storey car parks.

But with two out of every three people likely to be living in cities or other urban centers by 2050, this system of mobility is running out of road. A new vision is needed, and for PIF the future of mobility can only be sustainable if it is part of a broader vision to reduce emissions and improve urban life.

Start with cities. PIF-owned New Murabba is building a downtown development in Riyadh which, once complete, will combine residential housing with essential community facilities, as well as entertainment and cultural venues in a more effective urban model.

“We’ll be a city that is born smart,” says Michael Dyke, CEO of New Murabba. “You’ll be able to wayfind very easily, and equally you’ll be able to book anything you want within the 15-minute communities.”

Instead of zoning different areas into separate residential or commercial districts, New Murabba is built around a series of integrated districts that are connected through a pedestrian spine called a “mobility loop”. Within each district, there will be a focus on creating a high-quality public realm, including shaded walkways or cycle paths, parks and public spaces. These will link houses and services.

This human-centric approach to mobility also requires better use of vertical space. A key development of NEOM – the PIF giga-project being built in the north-west of Saudi Arabia – will be THE LINE, a 170km linear city. Instead of relying on roads, residents will be able to travel underground on shuttles or jump in a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet to fly high above the city.

Vertical mobility systems are integral to THE LINE’s urban model, which is separated into a pedestrian layer at the top, a service layer in the middle and transport, known as “The Spine”, at the base.

These new mobility systems have been made possible in large part by advancements in the Internet of Things and 5G connectivity, which provides urban designers with the real-time information to map a “digital twin” of the city, explains Professor Jason Pomeroy, a world-leading architect and founder of Pomeroy Studios in Singapore.

As sensors on the city metro detect an increase in the volume of train passengers, AI can divert a fleet of automated shuttles to the area to relieve the congestion, explains Pomeroy. Meanwhile, other technologies, such as “large language models”, can translate changing traffic patterns into clear directions that get people to their destination more quickly.

Outside the city center, cars are integral to the future of mobility. For this to be sustainable, however, more vehicles must not mean more pollution. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company (EVIQ), launched in October 2023 by PIF and the Saudi Electricity Company, plans to install more than 5,000 fast-charging stations across Saudi Arabia by 2030.

This will not only accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles, but also provide a platform for the growth of Saudi Arabia’s EV industry. This is supported by PIF’s joint venture with Pirelli to manufacture high-quality tires, and a JV with Hyundai Motor Company to establish a highly automated vehicle manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia.

In September 2023, the PIF-backed EV firm Lucid Group also opened the country’s first advanced car manufacturing facility in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), north of Jeddah, with plans to produce 155,000 electric vehicles each year. Lucid’s plant complements PIF’s homegrown EV manufacturer Ceer – a joint venture between PIF and tech giant Foxconn – which was launched in November 2022.

“Working with companies that have a proven track record in automotive innovation, such as BMW, as well as global leaders in the tech space, such as Foxconn, means we have the know-how and the systems in place to get the job done,” says James DeLuca, CEO of Ceer. “In the longer term, we are going to see EVs starting to interact with each other and with the wider infrastructure,” he adds.

To develop further, the industry needs scale, and PIF is looking to bring in private sector companies from Saudi Arabia and beyond to enable an end-to-end EV supply chain and future mobility solutions. In October 2023, PIF launched TASARU Mobility Investments, which will target private sector companies that can localize manufacturing expertise and cutting-edge technologies.

Accelerating PIF’s vision for the future of mobility is key to supporting Saudi Arabia’s growth. By 2030, the country aims to welcome 150 million visitors each year, who will expect fast and efficient transport links throughout their trip.

Those visitors will also expect sustainability. Saudi Arabia is aiming for net zero by 2060 – with PIF aiming to reach that target by 2050 – and scaling up the country’s EV industry is essential to this. It will also help other countries accelerate their transition to electric vehicles by combining world-class infrastructure with low shipping times and costs.

Above all, PIF is working to develop a future of mobility that works across the globe, reimagining cleaner and more efficient cities and the vehicles that move us through them. This is a blueprint for change, and Saudi Arabia will be the first to drive it forward.

Produced by the Financial Times