How Saudi Arabia’s vanity project is costing Kingdom trillions after being plagued with blunders & 100k missing workers

SAUDI Arabia’s megalomaniac NEOM was hailed as a bold vision for the future but its “unrealistic” plans may be crashing down amid a sea of controversies, an expert has said.

The megacity – costing the Kingdom trillions – promises to transform the nation’s economy, reduce its reliance on oil, and position it as a global powerhouse in innovation. 

Saudi Arabia is investing billions on several megalomaniac projects to be completed by the end of the decadeAFP

NEOM

With Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia wants to expand its economy beyond oil[/caption]

AFP

An inside view of The Line[/caption]

Giles Pendleton FRICS

But major setbacks will now see The Line stretching a measly 2.4km[/caption]

The major development hopes to become a symbol of Saudi Arabia’s desperate aspirations under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030.

Through massive investments, the nation revealed its 15 wildly ambitious projects funded by oil billions at an unprecedented rate.

Touting with technology that is yet to be invented, the Kingdom aims to build the world’s tallest skyscrapers, futuristic cities and even a fake moon.

But NEOM’s light seems to be dimming.

Not only has its flagship project drastically scaled back, but NEOM has been overshadowed by a series of controversies that raised serious questions about its feasibility and ethical foundations.

And as the clock ticks closer to the end of the decade, it seems that Saudi Arabia might not become the Middle East’s futuristic powerhouse anytime soon.

Dr Frederic Schneider, an independent consultant on post-oil economic transitions in the Gulf region, told The Sun that Vision 2030 and NEOM were seen as overly ambitious and nearly impossible to achieve from the very start.

He said: “When Vision 2030 was first announced there was a lot of talk about that it was hugely ambitious.

“Many people from the start said, ‘okay, this is not only ambitious, that’s almost impossible’.”

A GAMBLE OF TRILLIONS

Dr Schneider noted that many of these grand projects, including NEOM and “The Line,” face significant challenges, particularly in terms of funding and actual implementation.

Even for Saudi Arabia, the costs are overwhelming with The Line predicted to be costing The Kingdon £2 trillion.

He said: “The line, for example, was budgeted for 500 billion. Estimates go up fourfold that cost if you are realistic. So that would be 2 trillion for the line alone.”

As one of the most expensive development projects in history, NEOM represents a colossal financial gamble for Saudi Arabia.

This financial burden is compounded by the difficulty in attracting foreign investments, as potential investors are wary of uncertain returns.

The economic risks are compounded by global uncertainties and shifting economic trends that could undermine NEOM’s long-term sustainability.

If the project fails to live up to its lofty goals, it risks becoming a costly white elephant — a futuristic ghost city in the desert.

It comes as NEOM’s major flagship project has been dramatically reduced.

END OF THE LINE

The Line was set to be home to 1.5 million residents by 2030 – but will now house 300,000 and not even reach two miles.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud’s £1trillion city in the desert was promised to be a “civilisational revolution”.

It was the crown jewel in the Saudi government’s Vision 2030 – a program launched to increase diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the Crown Prince’s vision.

But the giga-project touted as moving Saudi Arabia‘s economy away from its reliance on oil may not proceed as expected, according to new reports seen by The Telegraph.

Despite plans for the mirrored city to extend 106 miles and house 1.5 million residents by the end of the decade, it is now looking more likely that it will stretch a mere 1.6 miles and house only 300,000 people by 2030.

That’s a shocking 1 per cent of its initial dimensions.

The “unsurprising” scale-down is said by experts to reflect the Saudi government’s struggles to win over foreign investors, as well as the nation’s vulnerability to oil prices.

Dr Schneider told The Sun: “I was surprised that it took them so long to announce these scale backs.”

The expert added that the Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia, has a history of announcing grand projects that either fail to materialise or are drastically scaled back.

Dr Schneider referenced previous initiatives like King Abdullah’s Economic City and various projects in other Gulf countries that never reached their ambitious goals – often ending in failure or significantly reduced scope.

YouTube/NEOM

The Line – the Kingdom’s flagship project for 2030 – was dramatically scaled back[/caption]

YouTube/NEOM

The Line is a mirrored megastructure initially planned to measure 110 miles[/caption]

Giles Pendleton FRICS

Aerial images reveal sheer scale of the futuristic city[/caption]

He said: “There are plans in Kuwait – Medinat al Harir – that also never materialized. And all of these are very similar in style to NEOM.”

The repeated failure to deliver on such grand promises, combined with past incidents like the Ritz-Carlton arrests in 2017, has eroded investor confidence.

This is particularly problematic for NEOM, where the risks are high and the returns are uncertain, Dr Schneider said.

The consultant went on to say that Saudi Arabia might be better off focusing on more realistic and sustainable development within existing cities, like Riyadh, which is already progressing well.

The pursuit of these “white elephant” projects, he said, reflects a desire for the Crown Prince to leave a lasting legacy, but they may ultimately prove to be economically and politically costly.

Dr Schneider explained: “Instead of following this pipe dream, why don’t we build on existing cities and existing advantages?

“They [Saudis] will try to not pay anything to cut down on the costs while publicly going on with it, but they should probably cut their losses right now, right here and go with more traditional developments.”

‘BUILT ON BLOOD’

Beneath NEOM’s glitzy facade lies a story of threats, forced evictions and bloodshed that cast a dark shadow over Saudi’s vanity project.

Many developments have faced fierce criticism over human rights abuses, where tribes were shoved out of their homeland, imprisoned or executed.

At least 20,000 members of the Huwaitat tribe face eviction, with no information about where they will live in the future.

For centuries, this indigenous community lived in the area designated for NEOM’s construction.

But what followed was a harsh crackdown on those who resisted leaving their homes.

The most tragic incident involved the killing of Abdul Rahim al-Howeiti, a prominent tribal leader who opposed the forced removals.

His death at the hands of Saudi security forces in 2020 became a stark symbol of the lengths to which the kingdom was willing to go to push the project forward.

One campaigner claimed “Neom is built on Saudi blood”.

Authorities in the port city of Jeddah also demolished many houses to implement Saudi’s development plans – with thousands of locals evicted illegally.

Nader Hijazi – who decided to remain anonymous – grew up in Aziziyah, one of around 63 communities devastated by the demolitions.

His father’s house was demolished in 2021, and he received less than a month’s notice.

Hijazi said the photographs he saw of his previous neighbourhood were terrible, resembling a warzone.

He told the BBC: “They’re waging a war on people, a war on our identities.”

Jeed Basyouni, Middle East director of the human rights organisation Reprieve, told DW: “We have seen, time and again, that anyone who disagrees with the crown prince, or gets in his way, risks being sentenced to jail or to death.”

In May, an ex-intelligence officer revealed how Saudi authorities allowed the use of lethal force to clear land for The Line.

Col Rabih Alenezi told the BBC he was given the order to drive out residents of a tribe in the Gulf state so that NEOM’s flagship project could be built.

After that, one of them was shot and murdered for protesting against eviction.

He said the April 2020 order stated the Huwaitat was made up of “many rebels” and “whoever continues to resist [eviction] should be killed, so it licensed the use of lethal force against whoever stayed in their home”.

Both the Neom management and the Saudi government declined to comment to the BBC.

CULTURAL CLASHES & WORK TENSIONS

NEOM’s vision of a futuristic, liberalised society contrasts sharply with Saudi Arabia’s deeply conservative cultural norms.

The project plans to introduce mixed-gender sports, entertainment events, and other liberal lifestyle elements that are rare in the kingdom.

But this cultural shift has sparked concerns about a potential clash between the project’s globalised vision and the traditional values of Saudi society.

There are also ongoing worries about the treatment of labourers involved in NEOM’s construction, particularly the migrant workers who make up a significant portion of the workforce.

Because of Saudi Arabia’s murky past with regard to labour rights, there are concerns that the workers constructing NEOM may be subjected to mistreatment and unfavourable working conditions.

‘MISSING WORKERS’

There are serious allegations that a significant number of migrant workers employed in the construction of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project may have disappeared or remain unaccounted for.

This issue is part of a broader concern about labor rights and the treatment of migrant workers in the Gulf region, particularly within large-scale construction projects like NEOM.

Saudi Arabia, like many other Gulf countries, heavily relies on migrant labour for its ambitious construction endeavours.

These workers, often from South Asia, Africa, and other developing regions, are typically employed under the Kafala system—a sponsorship system widely criticised for creating conditions akin to modern-day slavery.

Under this system, workers are tied to their employers, who hold significant control over their movements, their ability to change jobs, and even when they can return to their home countries.

Reports have emerged alleging that as many as 100,000 migrant workers have gone missing during the construction of NEOM.

AFP

Most projects are advertised as utopian ‘oases’[/caption]

Projects also include the construction of two enormous glass skyscrapers, measuring an incredible 738ft and 908ft

NEOM

Megaproject Trojena – part of NEOM – will offer an all-around outdoor skiing and adventure sports centre[/caption]

These workers are believed to have endured harsh working conditions, long hours, and inadequate living accommodations.

Some accounts suggest that these workers were either deported without proper documentation, abandoned without support, or, in the worst cases, died due to poor working conditions and a lack of adequate medical care.

Human rights organisations have been vocal about the potential abuses linked to NEOM and other major projects in Saudi Arabia, calling for greater transparency and improved protection of workers’ rights.

But due to the tight control the Saudi government maintains over information and the movement of people within the country, these organisations face significant barriers in confirming the extent of the reported abuses.

The Saudi government has generally denied or downplayed allegations of widespread worker mistreatment, pointing to reforms it has made to the Kafala system and its Vision 2030 plan, which includes efforts to improve labour rights.

The displacement of local populations and potential worker abuses, Dr Schneider added, could further damage Saudi Arabia’s reputation and deter investors.

He said: “Investors will see that probably there’s a big risk they have to attach to that project.”

TECHNOLOGY & ETHICAL DILEMMAS

NEOM is designed to be a technological marvel, with extensive use of artificial intelligence, robotics, and surveillance systems.

But this high-tech vision raises significant ethical questions.

Critics warn that the level of surveillance planned for NEOM could lead to unprecedented control over residents’ lives, raising serious concerns about privacy and civil liberties in such a controlled environment.

The project’s reliance on AI also brings up issues related to job displacement and the ethical use of technology.

With little transparency about how these technologies will be implemented, there are growing fears about their potential misuse.

The project also often boasts technology that has yet to be invented.

A former employee previously described The Line as “untethered to reality”.

A Bloomberg investigation from 2022, which interviewed 25 personnel and reviewed 2,700 pages of internal papers, saw the project be beset by setbacks and delays.

Last year, architect and urban planner Etienne Bou-Abdo said the 3D visuals provided “are not classical 3D architecture images”, and the project designers “have rather called upon video game designers”.

He claimed that the plan contains “a lot of technology that we don’t have today.”

Many of The Line’s essential elements, notably those linked to energy and transportation, are predicated on technology that do not yet exist, even in prototype.

Since its inception, the Crown Prince’s vision for the project has changed frequently, making it difficult for experts to predict his next move.

“The concept has morphed so much from its early conception that it’s sometimes hard to determine its direction: scaling down, scaling up, or making an aggressive turn sideways,” said Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, following the presentation in 2022. 

Al Arabiya

The Red Sea Project is set to be built on 90 undeveloped islands[/caption]

NEOM

Sindalah will be a luxury island destination spread across 840,000 square metres on the Red Sea[/caption]

Roshn

Marafy will be a seven-mile-long and 328ft-wide urban waterway in the city of Jeddah[/caption]

NEOM

Leyja will be set inside a 1,400ft valley in Saudi Arabia[/caption]