A Look at the Progress at Saudi Arabia’s Ski Resort Trojena, Part of NEOM

Trojena will be Saudi Arabia’s first all-year mountain resort and is envisaged to feature the first ski area in the country. Trojena is part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM project and is located about 30 miles (50km) from the coast and is close to the border of Jordan, located in the Sarawat Mountains. While the majority of Saudi Arabia is a desert climate, the southwestern part is semi-arid and Trojena is in a mountainous region of between 4,900 to 8,500 ft (1500 to 2600 m) in altitude. Temperatures in the area range from -17°C (1.4°F) to 22°C (71.6°F) in winter but snowfall is fairly rare as the area is typically very dry.

Trojena is envisioned to be a year-round tourist destination and will feature a ski village,luxury family and wellness resorts, and various retail stores and restaurants. It will be the venue for sporting events as well as art, music, and cultural festivals. By 2030, the mountain resort is expecting to attract 700,000 visitors and 7,000 permanent residents to live within the projects and adjacent residential districts.

• Related: A Closer Look at the Controversial Decision to Host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in Saudi Arabia

While the project seems rather fantastical, fact is that ground was broken for the Trojena mountain resort in 2022 and thus far a staggering 1.6 million cubic meters have been excavated for the lake site planned for Trojena. Basement works are underway for the vertical ski village and nearly 1 million cubic tons of rock have been excavated and used for the creation of the lakebed. Furthermore, snow production and ski testing have been happening at the site. The resort will have to rely entirely on man-made snow as well as some dry ski slopes. Snow making technician Jack Lawrie successfully made enough snow in the desert last winter to prepare a small slope.

Last month, Marriott International signed an agreement with NEOM to open two luxury hotels in Trojena. Under the agreement Marriott will open Saudi Arabia’s first W Hotel, and a JW Marriott property. The W Hotel in Trojena is anticipated to feature 236 guest rooms, including 47 suites, with views of the mountains and a freshwater lake. The JW Marriott Hotel in Trojena will be a haven for luxury travelers who seek an ultra-premium escape paired with exceptional service and well-being experiences. The property will be situated in The Bow which is anticipated to be a futuristic water world which will combine nature with technology to make for a unique living environment and feature 500 luxury rooms and suites, as well as an extensive entertainment and recreational offerings including a ballroom, meeting spaces, five dining venues, a fitness club, a kids club, swimming pools and a spa.

Saudi Arabia has been awarded the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which has not come without controversy. An entire resort has to be built from scratch, which is hardly in-line with the push for more sustainability in winter sports. While the plan is to build a carbon-neutral mountain resort, having to build a resort from scratch will use considerable amounts of energy. Heavy machinery at work in the Saudi mountains to excavate and build this dream resort is poweered by fossil fuels.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, continuously tries to paint the picture of an environmental revolution occuring in Saudi Arabia, but the amount of energy going into the construction alone is a massive carbon footprint right now. The country is the world’s biggest crude exporter and while Saudi Arabia has committed to moving towards 50% renewable energy by 2030, currently only about 0.1% of electricity is generated by renewable sources. The effects the creation of this mountain resort will have on the surrounding environment is entirely unclear at this point as is the total energy requirement to run the snow making and infrastructure at Trojena.

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