The most exquisite resort in history, costing 1.5 trillion dollars, is collapsing — the problems of building the futuristic NEOM project on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia were reported by Dailymail, citing in turn Bloomberg sources, as stated, close to the project.
According to them, Saudi Arabia “is forced to scale back its plans to build a 106-mile linear desert metropolis for $1.5 trillion,” “a humiliating failure for the kingdom.” The project was supposed to accommodate 1.5 million residents, including tourists, by the end of this decade. According to the above sources, by 2030, no more than 300,000 residents will be able to live in the complex. They called this a failure, adding that at least one contractor began to fire workers hired at the site, the publication reported.
Let us remind you that we are talking about one of the fifteen projects included in the national NEOM project, which also includes an industrial city, ports, and tourist facilities. The Line itself, a huge mirrored skyscraper, was considered the crown jewel of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 project, which was launched to diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy. The project was to consist of two parallel skyscrapers stretching across desert and mountainous terrain, with mirrored facades on the outside. Its total length was expected to be about 170 km along the coast in the western province of Tabuk, with its western tip pointing over the Red Sea towards Egypt.
As Bloomberg stated, these plans were sharply scaled back, with the length of the complex reduced to 1.6 km, a reduction of 98%. Agency sources also claim that Saudi Arabia has not yet approved the NEOM budget for 2024, and that “huge expenses” are beginning to worry local officials. However, judging by the above quote from Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, it is not that Saudi Arabia considers these changes a failure. “Delaying or rather extending some projects will be good for the economy,” he said.