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The 2029 Asian Winter Games in Saudi Arabia have been postponed. They were due to be held at a desert ski resort within Neom, a futuristic city state under construction on the Red Sea.
So what? Neom has become a boondoggle of epic proportions. The estimated $1.5trn development is a key plank of Vision 2030, an ambitious plan by the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to wean the kingdom off oil. But beset by cost overruns and construction delays, the project
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has been under financial review since last year;
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could be dramatically scaled down; and
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reflects the broader difficulties affecting the Saudi economy.
New dawn. MBS announced Neom in 2017, offering a vision for the “future of human civilisation” powered by clean energy and the latest technology. Some of the more outlandish plans included an artificial moon, glow-in-the-dark beaches and flying taxis. The scheme quickly became a cash cow for consultants and engineers.
Flagship. At its heart is a 500m-tall mirror metropolis called The Line. Stretching for 100 miles and designed to house nine million people, it has no roads and will be connected by a high-speed railway. It incorporates a $140bn ‘hidden marina’ for cruise ships.
Reality check. Sceptics have long doubted The Line’s feasibility. Now it is reportedly being scaled back and there has been talk of mass layoffs. Another project under review is Trojena, a ski resort dusted by artificial snow and adorned by a crystal skyscraper. It was supposed to be ready by 2026 but has been delayed by engineering snafus.
Is that it? The only completed part of Neom is Sindalah, a luxury yachting island resort. Despite a launch party in 2024, it is still not open to the public. MBS reportedly questioned its value for money. Neom’s chief executive Nadhmi al-Nasr departed shortly afterwards
Pause for thought. Neom’s costs are now under review, as its new boss Aiman al-Mudaifer takes stock of what went wrong. Instead of a techno-utopia for tourists and investors, parts of Neom face being transformed into a vast network of AI data centres.
Black gold. This reflects a broader economic reset, as tumbling oil prices check the ambitions of MBS. A decade ago, money appeared no object to the kingdom’s projects. Now it is tightening its belt. Investment minister Khalid al-Falih insists that half the economy is now “completely decoupled” from oil, even though fossil fuels account for the bulk of its revenues.
Tech pivot. MBS is now positioning Saudi Arabia as an AI leader, as part of a drive to attract $100bn in foreign investment by 2030. Al-Falih claims the kingdom will build data centres “at a scale and at a competitive cost not achieved elsewhere”.
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No loose lips. Neom’s difficulties are a blow to MBS. But they are unlikely to stir debate in a kingdom that keeps a tight lid on dissent, nor provoke much of a backlash outside Saudi Arabia.
What’s more… Failure to deliver the 2034 World Cup as promised would be another matter entirely. When it comes to that project, everyone will be watching.
Photograph by NEOM