Comparable in size to Belgium, Neom was originally pitched as Saudi Arabia's answer to Silicon Valley.
After years of overspending and delays, Saudi Arabia's futuristic megaproject Neom is being scaled back. The supercity was set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which have now been postponed.
Saudi Arabia is preparing to significantly reduce Neom, its flagship "supercity" project. According to media reports, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and chairman of the Neom council, Mohammed bin Salman, now envisions the project's development to be much more modest than originally planned, following years of budget overruns and delays.
On Saturday, the kingdom announced the indefinite postponement of the Asian Winter Games, scheduled for 2029 in Trojena - a year-round ski resort in the Neom mountains.
In addition to scaling back Trojena, reports suggest that radical redesign work is underway for The Line - a futuristic linear city and the central element of Neom, which was initially planned to stretch 170 kilometers from the Red Sea through desert mountains.
The decision to cut back Neom and postpone the Asian Winter Games seemingly reflects increasing pressure on Riyadh's ambitious projects amid subdued oil prices. Brent crude is currently trading just above $60 per barrel.
Comparable in size to Belgium, Neom was originally pitched as Saudi Arabia's answer to Silicon Valley - a hub for technology and futuristic innovations. The initial cost was estimated at around $500 billion, but recent reports suggest that the actual figure could approach $9 trillion.
First presented in 2017, this desert megaproject was intended to house nine million people by 2045, as Saudi Arabia seeks to boost its population and become a global economic superpower.
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