According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee has declared a candidacy to organize the 2029 Asian Winter Games in the megacity of NEOM.
The TROJENA project in NEOM, an ambitious plan for a mountain resort in the northwest of the country, is up for bid by officials to host the games.
The games will feature competitions in sports such alpine skiing, ice hockey, biathlon, cross-country skiing, and figure skating between more than 32 Asian nations.
The plans for TROJENA include an outdoor ski slope, created by blasting artificial snow at the mountains.
Saudi Arabia projects that the TROJENA project will add $798 million (3 billion riyals) to Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2030.
Around 7,000 people are expected to live permanently at TROJENA, and 700,000 tourists are predicted to visit each year once the project is completed, according to SPA.
The mountain resort is expected to form one part of the wider NEOM megacity – a $500 billion project currently under construction in a remote location on the Red Sea coast.
The mountainous Tabuk region, where Saudi Arabia is building NEOM, is one of the few areas in the country that sees some snowfall during the winter months.
Winter sports are not often associated with the desert kingdom, but Saudi Arabia did send its first winter Olympics team to the Beijing games in February.
Fayik Abdi competed in the men’s giant slalom, placing 44th.
Commenting on the 2029 Asian Winter Games bid announcement, President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki praised the “generous and unprecedented support enjoyed by all sectors in general and the sports sector, in particular by our wise leadership and the follow-up and attention of His Highness, the Crown Prince.”
In 2020, Riyadh was selected to host the summer Asian Games in 2034.