The Megalomanian Dream of the Saudi Crown family for building a giant city of the future in the middle of the desert receive a brutal reality check.
Saudi Arabia’s plans for Neom, a futuristic fever dream that includes a massive shore resort, a second ski resort in the mountains, and up to 106 miles of skyscrapers called the line, run into major financial problems.
As Wall Street Journal The reports, estimates of the Capital Costs for the Construction of NEOM about what employees call its “extreme condition” up to 2080, have ballooned up to $ 8.8 trillion, which is more than 25 times greater than the Kingdom’s annual budget.
Even worse, the audit report reviewed by the newspaper has found that employees are trying to encourage the numbers to hide evidence of the cost of ballooning the project. The audit found “evidence of deliberate manipulation” of finances by “certain members of the management”.
This is a damn new development that emphasizes the grand and unrealistic goals set by the main defender of the Neom, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
According to WsjOfficials are also trying to protect a king from harsh realities. For example, in an obvious attempt to seem that if the NEOM skiing has an internal rate of return that meets some celestial expectations, employees have increased the estimated prices to remain on the still completed site. A room for a boutique tourist hotel, previously a price of $ 489, was adjusted to cost $ 1866. The Inventive Glamping site has descended from $ 216 to $ 794 per night.
These efforts have been reported to have been assisted by McKinsey consultants hired by the project.
Then the employees tried to hide the cost manipulation. An email revealed that Antony Vives, who was appointed to the coastal resort of Neom, called Syndala, told consultants that “we should not mention proactively” before a key meeting according to WsjS
In particular, the line has increased significantly in costs. The original plan was to make the skyscraper extend 100 miles through the desert, but this plan seems to be less likely. Even the first -piece skyscraper schemes were revised from ten miles to only 1.5 miles within the next decade.
Recommendations to reduce the planned height of the couple skyscrapers to about 1000 feet from 1600 feet to save costs were categorically opposed to the heir to the heir to Bin Salman himself.
However, the current goal is to open the first half of the first piece of the project by 2034.
“We will start going vertically – let’s hope – at the end of this year,” said the line presenter Dennis Hicky at this year’s World Economic Forum, quoted by The WsjS
In short, it seems that the Kingdom’s project has become a mess of unprecedented size. And even leadership is on some shaky grounds. Former CEO of Neom Nadhmi Al-Nasr gave up in November, weeks after a documentary that claims that tens of thousands of foreign workers have already died during the construction of the city.
Syndala is still largely unfinished, although Saudi officials are organizing a lavish launch party of $ 45 million in October. The event was attended by celebrities, including actor Will Smith and football defender Tom Brady.
But the golf course and hotels are not yet open to the public four months later.
Meanwhile, the consulting firm McKcini is making a bank. According to WsjThe company has won more than $ 130 million a year for its services. However, a spokesman denied that the company “was involved in the manipulation of the financial statements”.
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