Saudi King Salman heads to NEOM for ‘rest and relaxation’

Saudi King Salman arrived in the $500bn NEOM development early on Thursday morning to rest and relax, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

#فيديو | مغادرة #خادم_الحرمين_الشريفين الرياض.#واس pic.twitter.com/904hqcakYj

— واس الأخبار الملكية (@spagov) August 12, 2020

He left Riyadh earlier on Thursday, the report stated.

#فيديو | #خادم_الحرمين_الشريفين يصل إلى #نيوم.#واس pic.twitter.com/HWOIwB6xxl

— واس الأخبار الملكية (@spagov) August 12, 2020

#خادم_الحرمين_الشريفين يصل إلى #نيوم.https://t.co/Q6F0comBoJ#واس pic.twitter.com/QJbC956vtV

— واس الأخبار الملكية (@spagov) August 12, 2020

King Salman underwent a surgery last month at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh for an inflamed gallbladder. He left the hospital on July 30.

Read: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman admitted to hospital

This is the third year that King Salman is heading to the $500bn NEOM mega city for a holiday in the summer.

Sources told Reuters in 2018 that his NEOM palace was designed as a replica of the one Saudi Binladin completed for the ruler in Tangier, Morocco.

It includes palaces for the King, the Crown Prince and his brother, along with smaller villas for other royals, according to the newswire.

Other features include landscaped gardens with fountains and flowering trees, three helipads, a marina and a golf course.

Read: Saudi king begins holiday in still unbuilt $500bn mega-city NEOM