The Scoop
Saudi Arabia’s NEOM has brought in a new tier of management to improve oversight of the more than $1 trillion project at the same time that it is carrying out a wave of layoffs at the site, which has been marred by construction delays and cost overruns.
NEOM, which is controlled by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has created a new chief of staff division with five senior executives to oversee governance and engagement with the Saudi state, according to people familiar with the matter. The unit is headed by Mazen Alfuraih, who was previously in the real estate division of the Public Investment Fund.
The move is seen as part of efforts by NEOM’s recently appointed Chief Executive Aiman al-Mudaifer to get the project back under control after runaway spending — now being curtailed — and a series of setbacks, including a tourism island that was shut down shortly after opening as well as a ski resort in the mountains that likely won’t be ready in time to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.
It also comes as NEOM awaits the outcome of a strategic review launched by Al-Mudaifer last year. That review is expected to lead to NEOM’s ambitions being significantly redesigned and scaled back, the Financial Times reported. The new hires come as staffing levels at the construction site on the kingdom’s west coast have dropped significantly due to layoffs, the people said. Of around 6,000 staff members, several hundred direct employees of NEOM have been let go in the past few months and more layoffs are expected.
“As is typical with large-scale, multi-year projects, NEOM is currently undertaking a strategic review which is common practice and occurs several times during the course of a major development project,” NEOM said in a statement. “NEOM is advancing its projects in line with strategic priorities, market readiness and sustainable economic impact.”
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Construction on NEOM’s biggest development, the 175km-long and 500m-tall skyscraper known as The Line, has slowed significantly amid the review by the PIF and NEOM management, the people familiar said, leading to contractors also significantly reducing their labor force, affecting thousands of workers.
However, work is continuing on other parts of NEOM, including the ski resort Trojena, an industrial city and port called Oxagon, and the world’s largest green hydrogen plant. Several senior executives have been reallocated from The Line to focus on these other projects, the people said. Trojena was intended to be the site for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, but the government has now admitted it won’t be ready.
Another plan to develop a series of futuristic-looking hotels along the Red Sea coast, collectively known as Magma, has been put on hold, the people said.
The new chief of staff division will report to CEO Aiman al-Mudaifer, who was appointed in May 2025 following the departure of Nadhmi Al-Nasr.
While the outlook for NEOM is currently unclear pending the strategic review, PIF has said it will designate the project as one of several “ecosystems” that it focuses its investments on, along with other areas including travel and tourism, advanced manufacturing, industry and logistics, and clean energy.
NEOM was considering laying off more than 1,000 employees and relocating a similar number to Riyadh in an attempt to cut costs, Semafor reported in July.
Notable
- The laws of physics and ballooning costs imperiled Saudi Arabia’s plans to build The Line, the Financial Times reported.