Agency said “Bloomberg” that Saudi Arabia She curtailed her ambitions for the project.NEOM“, which is the largest of the plans of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aimed at diversifying the country’s economy away from oil.
The agency quoted informed sources as saying that Saudi Arabia was planning for about 1.5 million people to live in “The Line,” a future city whose cost is about 500 billion dollars, and which includes parallel skyscrapers covered with mirrors, extending over a distance of 170 kilometers between mountainous and desert terrain. Year 2030.
But Saudi officials now expect the project to accommodate fewer than 300,000 residents by that date, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The source, who requested anonymity, added that officials expect to complete construction of only 2.4 kilometers of the project by 2030.
As a result, at least one contractor fired a number of workers he employed at the site, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.
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Representatives of NEOM and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which owns and finances the project, declined to respond to requests for comment.
In addition to the “The Line” project, NEOM’s plans, with a total value of $1.5 trillion, include the establishment of an industrial city, ports and tourist facilities, and it is also scheduled to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029 in a mountain resort called “Trogena.”
People familiar with the matter said that work is continuing on other parts of the broader NEOM project, and officials remain optimistic about the overall goals of “The Line” project.
For example, another development project within NEOM is scheduled to open this year, transforming an island in the Red Sea into a luxury tourist destination known as Sindala.
The sources familiar with the matter added that the delay in the “The Line” project comes at a time when the sovereign wealth fund has not yet approved the “NEOM” budget for the year 2024.
The Kingdom is implementing a strategy aimed at diversifying sources of growth
Economic For the country, away from oil and gas exports, it was called Vision 2030, within which it plans to increase spending in order to drive economic growth and support non-oil gross domestic product.
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