Saudi Arabia scales back Neom plans to focus on sports

The $500bn new Saudi project – which organisers claim will be 33 times the size of New York City – was planned to include a 170km-long city built in a straight line (known as The Line), an eight-sided city that floats on water, and a ski resort with a folded vertical village, amongst other grandiose schemes.

However, rising costs and fast-approaching deadlines have forced Saudi authorities to rein in some of the plans, according to three sources cited by Reuters.

“When the [Neom] project was first pitched as an idea, costs were $500bn. However, The Line alone was going to cost over a trillion which was why it’s been scaled back,” a consultant with knowledge of the matter said.

One of the sources added that work on The Line was now solely focused on the completion of 2.4km stretch that would include a stadium expected to host the final of the 2034 World Cup.

The kingdom is the only country bidding for FIFA’s 2034 football tournament, and is expected to be confirmed as hosts during a vote next month.

Saudi Arabia announced in August that Neom Stadium – one of 15 stadiums to be used during the 2034 competion – would be built within The Line and would stand 350 metres above the ground.

“The Line changed its plans [in] September and October to integrate the stadium which brought utility to the project because it will be used for the World Cup,” one of the sources told Reuters.

The same source stated that Neom had been “scaled down and broken into chunks”, adding that the planned mountain resort Trojena was a priority, as it is set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

It comes days after the unexpected departure of Nadhmi al-Nasr as the chief executive of Neom.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters the departure was partly due to an inability to deliver key goals.

Nasr had earned a chilling reputation managing Neom. He reportedly bragged that he drove everyone “like a slave”, adding: “When they drop down dead, I celebrate. That’s how I do my projects.”

A documentary released last month, Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia, found that labourers working on The Line were being forced to work gruelling hours far beyond legal limits.

According to an undercover reporter, workers were regularly working longer than the 60 hours maximum, including overtime, prescribed each week under Saudi law.

Many labourers were also forced to take an unpaid, three-hour bus commute to get to the desert site and back on top of their long shift, which left them with around four hours to sleep.

The Neom megacity is a centrepiece of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 strategy to move the Gulf kingdom away from oil reliance and enhance its reputation on the global stage.

In May, Middle East Eye reported that Saudi security officers were ordered to use lethal force to kill people who resisted eviction from areas earmarked for the city, according to a former Saudi intelligence officer.

The Saudi government has been accused of forcibly displacing members of the Howeitat tribe, who have lived for centuries in the region of Tabuk, to make way for Neom.

At least 47 members of the tribe have been arrested or detained for resisting eviction, including five who have been sentenced to death, according to a report by the UK-based Alqst rights group.