News

Saudi Arabia Will Be Home To A $5BN Floating City

The superyacht, to be named Pangeos, will have room for 60,000 guests along with shopping malls and beach clubs.

Published

3 years ago

November 20, 2022

Nour Nasir

saudi arabia will be home to a $5bn floating city

Lazzarini

An Italian design studio called Lazzarini has begun a massive project to design and eventually build a $5 billion “terayacht”. The colossal floating city will be based in Saudi Arabia, and will have the ability to host 60,000 people.

As if the sheer size of this craft wasn’t headline-grabbing enough, the yacht, named Pangeos, will be shaped like a giant sea turtle.

According to Lazzarini, Pangeos is named “after the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras.”

The design studio went on to add: “Translating this into a somewhat futuristic expression, Pangeos extends its length for 550 meters (1,800 ft) and measures 610 meters (2,000 ft) at its widest point — the wings. If realized, the turtle-shaped vessel will become the world’s largest structure ever built.”

pangeos terayacht floating city

The floating city will be home to 19 luxury villas and 64 apartments on each of the turtle’s wings. Lazzarini expects to pump $8 billion into construction, creating the largest-ever floating object after an eight-year build period.

pangeos floating city villas

The design of Pangeos is based around a main square that resembles a giant sports stadium, which extends into a wide terraced villa area with private houses, shops, and other buildings, plus a rooftop terrace with an upper “shell” zone for landing flying vehicles.

Also Read: Saudi Arabia Reveals Plans To Build The City Of The Future

In the lower spaces, 30,000 cells provide an unsinkable floating platform, with the bulk of the vessel being constructed from steel.

As well as being notable for its outrageous size and head-turning design, Pangeos will offer unrivaled luxury for guests, with a rooftop garden, mall, beach club, and a massive central shipyard with direct access to the sea.

News

Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform

Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.

Published

21 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Joanna Melki

lebanon ministers meet visa over national digital payment platform

Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.

The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.

The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.

Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.

Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.

Also Read: Deezer Says AI Tracks Now Make Up 44% Of Uploads

Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.

“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.

Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.