Saudi Arabia has confirmed that the NEOM megaprojects will proceed as initially planned, despite previous reports suggesting a potential scaling back of the futuristic desert development.
What Happened: The Kingdom’s economy minister, Faisal Al Ibrahim, dismissed earlier reports of a reduction in the scope of the $1.5 trillion NEOM project. “All projects are moving full steam ahead,” Al Ibrahim stated at the World Economic Forum’s special meeting in Riyadh, according to CNBC.
He addressed concerns over the project’s financials, which is part of the broader Vision 2030 initiative to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil. The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is yet to approve NEOM’s 2024 budget.
Al Ibrahim assured that the projects would be delivered according to plan, with decisions being made for “optimal economic impact.”
He emphasized that “for NEOM, the projects, the intended scale is continuing as planned. There is no change in scale.”
When asked about the message these changes ...