Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced plans for the kingdom’s first ski resort – fitted with its own village, luxury and wellness resorts and an ‘interactive nature reserve’ – and expects to attract 700,000 visitors by 2030.
The super-project, called TROJENA, is the latest to be unveiled as part of NEOM – a planned $500 billion city-state that would cover 10,000 square miles of Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk province, near its borders with Jordan and Egypt.
The word is a combination of the Greek word neos, or ‘new,’ and mustaqbal, Arabic for ‘future.’
TROJENA is set to include an all-year-round ski village, a nearly two-mile man-made freshwater lake and the Vault – a ‘vertical village within the mountain with a fusion of technology, entertainment and hospitality facilities’.
It will sit at the centre of NEOM, around 31 miles from the Gulf of Aqaba coast, in a mountainous region with Saudi Arabia’s highest peaks, some 8,530 feet above sea level.
The resort also promises the ‘Slope Residences’, luxurious mansions which will overlook the lake and its surroundings
And it’s not just for skiing – TROJENA is also expected to provide facilities for watersports and mountain biking, with the project set to be completed by 2026.
Bin Salman said of the ambitious endeavour, announced earlier this month: ‘TROJENA will redefine mountain tourism for the world by creating a place based on the principles of ecotourism, highlighting our efforts to preserve nature and enhance the community’s quality of life, which is aligned with the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
‘It also confirms our commitment to be part of the global effort to protect the environment.
‘TROJENA will be an important addition to tourism in the region, a unique example of how Saudi Arabia is creating destinations based on its geographical and environmental diversity.
