PLANS for the world’s longest sideways skyscraper have been dealt a “big blow”; – while new images showed the audacious project’s skeletal building site.
‘s trillion-dollar The Line has been plagued by and setbacks – and now the NEOM project is facing another hitch.
New images showed the bare-bones construction site in the Saudi dessert.
A concrete floor runs along the sand with little sight of activity – as the looks nowhere near .
And now, NEOM’s Aiman al-Mudaifer has said a “comprehensive ”; of the ambitious build has been launched.
The review for Saudi Prince ‘s scheme aims to look at the feasibility and priority of projects within the scheme.
The acting leader has also faced simmering backlash over his management style and pressure to deliver results.
One source close to the build said the main projects at were “in general going on”;, but added that some were being “reviewed in terms of their scope”;.
The source added the review was “taking place in a n environment of limited resources”;, according to Financial Times.
“Some things were done that need to be looked at again,”; they said.
– which was originally planned to house 1.5 million people but will now only accommodate 300,000 – covers desert and mountains by the Red Sea.
It is part of the NEOM , alongside other megalomaniac structures such as Oxagon, Zardun and Trojena.
The Saudi has struggled to meet deadlines and stay behind budget limits.
The Prince’s Vision 2030 programme aims to develop the kingdom with projects like these aiming to boost other sources of revenue.
It has also drawn scepticism for its unrealistic-ambition – and criticism for its alleged abuses.
But another person close to the matter said the review was being conducted to “decide what to double down on”;.
They said that it was related to “spending recalibration”;.
Prince Mohamed serves as the de facto leader and chair of NEOM, which is owned by Saudi Arabia‘s Public Investment Fund worth £700billion.
Mudaifer was appointed as NEOM’s acting chief executive when the company was entering a “new phase of delivery”;.
They said that his leadership would “ensure operational continuity, agility and efficiency to match the overall vision and objectives of the ”;.
But the wildly ambitious megacity is hurtling towards financial meltdown – and has now faced this “big blow”;.
Flying taxis, ski resorts in the desert, and the 105-mile (170-kilometre) mirrored metropolis The Line are currently looking like a monument to hubris, mismanagement, and economic overreach.
It has a projected price tag of £6.9trillion.
And it comes after – which could worsen its situation even more.
Among its other scandals, satellite images analysed by Naraspace and ESA showed construction slowing across key NEOM sites.
While the Hidden Marina and wind farms near The Line show some signs of life, vast swathes of the project are going dark – literally.
Nighttime light intensity, used as a proxy for construction activity, has plummeted in the eastern development zones since last September.
Bloomberg reports Saudi officials now believe just 2.4 kilometres of the 170-km Line will be built by 2030.
Additionally, anITValleged 21,000 migrant workers had died since 2016 under the Vision 2030 programme.
A Saudiand safety body dismissed the documentary as “misinformation.”;
