Mohammed’s view
Ever since NEOM was first announced in 2017, it has been a constant, personal distraction. It seems this is now a universal sentiment.
Among journalists, the competition is intense to scoop every fantastical detail about the project in the largely uninhabited northeastern corner of Saudi Arabia. It’s the same among businesses: Foreign companies spent years buzzing about deals linked to the $500 billion ($1 trillion, $1.5 trillion?) gigaproject, although it looks like consultants were the ones who made off with the fat profits for their fancy slide decks.
It’s always been hard for me to feign excitement. Having covered the disappointment of King Abdullah Economic City near Jeddah and Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mousaed Economic City (the latter downgraded to a truck depot near Hail) a generation ago, I knew the action was elsewhere. Indeed, what flowed to NEOM — $31 billion since 2019, according to Bloomberg — pales in comparison to Aramco’s annual capital expenditure ($50 billion last year), or the massive developments underway in Riyadh. Where people actually live.
The latest controversy is over whether Saudi Arabia can host the 2029 Asian Winter Games as planned, but whether it organizes the 2029 edition (or the 2099 games) is immaterial to its bigger goal: diversifying its economy in preparation for a post-oil world.
Former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney recently said it wasn’t useful to use the length of The Line as “the metric of Vision 2030” when diversifying the economy and advancing social development, particularly for women, are the targets. Success in sectors like manufacturing, tech, and tourism could take decades, Ratney said, but some measures have already exceeded expectations.
Skiing in the desert? If it happens, it would be a wonder. And if it doesn’t, so be it. There are far greater transformations happening in Saudi Arabia to celebrate and critique.
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Room for Disagreement
Pushing out NEOM’s timeline carries reputational risks. Saudi Arabia has marketed the project as the centerpiece of its transformation and vision for the future. The kingdom may also face a sunk cost problem, with billions already invested in infrastructure. Some projects — including resorts, the port, and the industrial zone — may not only be viable but also crucial components of the diversification strategy, making progress at NEOM an important factor in the country’s development.
Notable
- The mounting challenges to pull off the 2029 Asian Winter Games in Saudi Arabia — and the possibility of moving the games to another country altogether — are explored in an investigation from the Financial Times.
- Saudi Arabia would have to spend far more than the $1 trillion it holds in its sovereign wealth fund to realize the ambitions it set in NEOM, The Wall Street Journal reported.