Nadhmi Al-Nasr, the current interim president for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), has been appointed as the new CEO of Neom, a megacity that is being planned in Saudi Arabia.

The decision follows the appointment of Klaus Kleinfeld, the CEO of the project, as an advisor to the Kingdom’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, reports have said.

Kleinfeld had been tasked with developing the Neom project in north Saudi Arabia and will now take over wider responsibilities to develop the Kingdom’s economic, technological and financial development, a report on Bloomberg News said, quoting a statement.

The German is scheduled to begin his role on August 1, 2018 and will retain a role as a board member of Neom. He is a former chairman and CEO of Alcoa and a former president and CEO of Siemens.

Al Nasr has more than 30 years of experience with Saudi Aramco and KAUST and has worked on creating the strategy and development of Neom Bay, an initial state of Neom’s development, the statement to added.

He will be responsible for ‘developing the business plans for the core economic sectors of the new city’, it said.

NEOM will be built in the northwestern region of Saudi Arabia, and will span over 26,500 square kilometers. The $500bn megacity on the Red Sea coast will be part of a huge national push to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy

The site will also become the main entrance to the King Salman Bridge, linking Asia and Africa, which will add to the zone’s economic significance.  Investments and financing will play a vital role in Neom, set to be spearheaded by the Kingdom’s economy and supported by PIF.