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TEAM NAVER Completes Digital Twin Platform Project in Three Saudi Cities, Pioneering Smart City Innovation

- Initial buildout completed in three Saudi Cities—Makkah, Madinah, and Jeddah—covering an area of 6,800 km², with over 920,000 buildings digitally mapped

- Enables advanced urban planning through digital twins, supporting disaster simulations and architectural management

- Saudi Arabia aims to expand cities covered by NAVER’s technology and explore diverse use cases

June 10, 2025

TEAM NAVER has completed the initial construction of a digital twin platform for Makkah, Madinah, and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, laying the foundation for implementing smart cities in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, aiming to become a global leader in smart cities, is pushing forward with this project using innovative technologies to build future-oriented urban systems. The initiative is spearheaded by Balady (Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing) and NHC Innovation, a digital subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Company (NHC), with TEAM NAVER providing technical support.

The constructed digital twin platform spans an area exceeding 6,800 km²—over 11 times the size of Seoul—and contains over 920,000 individual buildings. The platform integrates high-resolution 3D imagery with diverse real-time data streams, providing invaluable tools for local urban planners, engineers, and administrators.

[Photo] 3D model of Makkah constructed using NAVER’s technology

The platform provides various city planning tools and analytical features based on 3D models. These features include terrain analysis for land development calculations and slope evaluation, skyline and sunlight exposure analysis for scenic and landscape studies, and compliance checks for building codes—all before any real-world construction begins. In addition, it supports simulations for natural disasters like floods, visualizes high-risk flood zones based on past flood frequency data and urban waterway information, and even enables real-time rain cloud tracking through radar visualization.

[Photo] Interface of the “KSA Digital Twin System” used locally in Saudi Arabia (clockwise from top-left): flood simulation, terrain analysis, urban visibility analysis, sunlight exposure analysis

Balady plans to expand the scope of digital twin deployments to additional cities and elevate the platform to a nationwide public–private tool. The overarching goal is transforming Saudi Arabia into a leader in digital innovation.

Yasser Alobaidan, CEO of Balady, stated, “This digital twin platform represents Saudi Arabia’s most tangible step toward a vision for a data-driven, sustainable future cities ecosystem. We aim to expand this technology nationwide to enhance urban planning and support sustainable infrastructure development.”

Han Sang-young, Executive Director of Global DX & Innovation at NAVER Cloud, added, “It’s especially meaningful that NAVER’s technology is powering Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation—a new global benchmark in smart cities. We will continue advancing the platform with our local partners, expanding the project scope to new regions, and discovering new use cases.”

In October 2023, TEAM NAVER was awarded the project by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipalities and Housing and began full-scale development in July 2024. In May, NAVER Cloud and NHC Innovation jointly established the strategic joint venture “NAVER Innovation” to launch services, including a map-based super app and platform projects using the digital twin system. </End>