A stock exchange filing dated 24 October confirmed that Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. (aka Solutions by STC) has signed "several contracts" with the Saudi Telecom Company valued at $53.66 million (SR201.3 million) for a data centre at NEOM Telco Park.
The scope of the project includes the design and build of digital solutions for NEOM Telco Park’s digital platform as well as data centre support "starting from the concept to project delivery".
The filing stated: "The contracts will contribute to supporting NEOM with the data centre infrastructure, cloud platform, and other application platforms such as artificial intelligence, big data and internet services."
With four elements documented, the project spans data centre campus enablement; system integration; infrastructure services, and physical security solutions; digital platform enabling NEOM to provide private cloud services to its customers; and solutions and technology maintenance and support.
It is expected the project delivery and implementation will be complete within one year of the contract signing date, with additional support services extended for three years.
In July of last year, STC confirmed it had won the contract to deliver an “advanced 5G and IoT network” to support the development of NEOM, Saudi Arabia's cross-border mega-city, located in the north western Tabuk Province.
However, STC is supplied by Huawei and NEOM has ambitions to host major international businesses from the US, UK and Europe, as well as tourists.
Speaking at the time, NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr said: “NEOM’s infrastructure will utilise AI, robotics, and human-machine fusion to deliver greater predictive intelligence and enable faster decision making across all NEOM sectors. The procurement and deployment of a future-proof wireless network is a critical first for NEOM in realising our goal of driving innovation in the future digital economy.”
Anticipated to be around the size of Belgium once complete, NEOM is part of Saudi Arabia's economic diversification plans and is expected to cost $500 billion.
It was announced in 2017, however, a Reuters report in March of this year stated that although more than 700 people now work on the project site, "large-scale construction of the city has yet to begin".
