Saudi Arabia has begun developing NEOM, a newly branded region of Saudi Arabia, with work underway across multiple planned areas. Whilst this project is both ambitious and controversial, with many aspects under scrutiny, there is considerable interest in how they address the environmental challenges of such a project. Particularly air quality management and developing 100% clean energy at scale.
The $500 billion development will be building five regions: Magna, Oxagon, Sindalah, THE LINE, and Trojena, each starting from scratch. NEOM, meaning ‘new future’ aims to redefine urban development by placing people and nature at its core, integrating sustainability from the ground up. This construction project plans to set a new standard for livability by ensuring that people and nature are at the core of its growth. At the heart of this commitment is air quality monitoring, a crucial aspect for development happening now and the health and well-being of future NEOM residents.
Why Air Quality Monitoring is Critical for the NEOM project
NEOM presents a unique set of challenges, particularly in relation to air quality. The project is in a desert, where strong winds and sandstorms can damage construction equipment and disperse dust and emissions.
To combat these challenges, NEOM has partnered with AQMesh, a leader in remote air quality monitoring. This partnership aims to provide accurate, real-time data about air quality across NEOM’s developing regions, ensuring that the project stays on track to meet its sustainability goals.
AQMesh and NEOM
AQMesh and NEOM have been working together for a number of years and have installed AQMesh pods across The Line, Oxagon, Sindalah and Trojena. The AQMesh technical support team have visited the sites from their base in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Desert construction projects we’ve worked on require dust measurement, typically as particulate matter mass fraction estimates, such as PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10 and PM Total. Our measurement of gases gives an indication of air pollution from the range of activity typically taking place on a construction site. NO, NO₂, CO and CO₂ indicate air pollution levels from combustion sources, such as vehicle or plant engines and generators. SO2, H2S and TVOC can be relevant on specific sites, depending on likely pollution sources on the site or neighbouring areas. Wind direction sensors are essential to understand the direction of travel for dust and air pollutants. While solar power offers an advantageous energy solution.
Innovative Solutions for Remote Air Quality Monitoring
From deserts to glaciers, AQMesh has been operating in remote locations for 15 years. In countries such as Alaska, Canada and Iceland, as well as on ships travelling across the world. Our air quality monitors are built for environmental monitoring in remote locations.
One of the key challenges when monitoring air quality in remote locations like NEOM is the availability of reliable communication networks. The desert landscape often lacks stable cellular connections, making it difficult to maintain continuous data transmission. AQMesh has worked with many remote projects and can overcome these challenges in various ways. We have the tools and know-how to work with the available cellular bands and our system is designed to cope with intermittent connection. In the most extreme cases our modem can find weak signals.
As well as a 5-year manufacturer’s pod warranty, the AQMesh team provides ongoing support for all pods purchased or rented. Normally support is from the UK manufacturing centre, because of the remote diagnostics designed into the equipment, but sometimes it is necessary to get out to site and the team are proud to provide backup.
Want to ensure your project’s environmental impact is effectively managed? Contact AQMesh for expert air quality monitoring solutions — no matter how remote your site.