Naver Cloud forms first Korean partnership with the mega smart city project to work on autonomous and smart technologies
Under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a massive urban development is underway in Riyadh that aims to transform not only the kingdom’s capital but the entire Middle East, according to Michael Dyke, CEO of New Murabba Development Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
South Korea is emerging as a key partner for the New Murabba project, leveraging its advanced technology and strong cultural ties to Saudi Arabia.
“Korea’s advantage is that it already has a history and track record of operating within the kingdom,” Dyke said in an interview with The Korea Herald on the sidelines of the New Murabba Investment and Partnership Forum held Monday in Seoul.
He referred to the economic boom of the 1970s and 1980s, when Korean construction companies were instrumental in developing Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure.
“The relationships are long and strong, and partnerships with Saudi companies are already well established from within South Korea,” he added.
Dyke pointed to three pillars of partnerships with Korea: industrial, technological and real estate. “One thing I would emphasize is that because of the scale of New Murabba, there will be multiple partnerships required to cover all areas,” he noted.
New Murabba, spanning 19 square kilometers in Riyadh, is envisioned as a mega-sized smart city. At its center will be the Mukaab, a 400-meter-tall cuboid skyscraper that will house residences, retail, hospitality, cultural and leisure facilities under a single dome.
Set to be the largest structure by volume, the Mukaab will be spacious enough to fit 20 Empire State Buildings. Construction is already underway, with completion targeted for 2030.
“We’re in the capital city of Riyadh, and New Murabba will become the downtown of the capital city of the Middle East. The Mukaab, where we will have the high-tech core, will be the beating heart of this downtown,” Dyke said.
Regarding the integration of Korean culture into the project, Dyke responded with enthusiasm.
“The simple answer is yes. With 100 million annual visits projected for the Mukaab, and 35 percent of those being international visitors, we need familiarity in food, retail and entertainment,” he quipped.
He highlighted that his interest in Seoul is rooted in how it “pushes the boundaries of technology and redefines how entertainment and food and beverage experiences are created.”
In the years ahead, as Saudi Arabia prepares to host Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup in 2034, Dyke is confident that New Murabba will be ready to welcome millions of visitors with its state-of-the-art stadiums and integrated transit connectivity.
“So we are designing our city to be smart from the very beginning, and that’s where our collaboration with Naver comes in, helping us ensure the city is future-proof for generations to come, not just for the next five, 10 or 20 years.”
Despite ongoing tensions in the Middle East, Dyke appeared unconcerned, calling it a fact of life in today’s world of constant change.
“Clearly, some things have happened more recently in the Middle East, but I know that much of the region is back to normal,” he said. “It remains business as usual."
On the day of the forum, Naver Cloud signed a memorandum of understanding with New Murabba, becoming the project’s first Korean partner. The agreement opens the door to future collaboration in areas such as robotics, autonomous driving and smart city platforms, according to NMDC.
“Mukaab is a very complex ecosystem and requires companies of scale to match its scale,” Dyke said, explaining that Naver’s technological prowess and capacity align with their needs.
New Murabba plans to explore future collaborations in Seoul through a two-day closed-door forum on Tuesday and Wednesday, where more than 500 participants, including company executives, investors and government officials, engage in discussions on investment and partnership opportunities under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): No Kyung-min
Quelle/Source: The Korea Herald, 01.07.2025
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