It comes as little surprise that Saudi Arabia is officially scaling back some of its most ambitious construction ventures, including Mukaab and NEOM The Line.
The Kingdom recently announced plans to shelve Mukaab, the so-called “Cube” project, which was set to become the world’s biggest and most iconic skyscraper, as it reassesses both its financial viability and overall feasibility. The project was launched in 2023 alongside the construction of new real estate development New Murabba, and it was expected to host 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, retail spaces, office zones, restaurants, immersive theaters, museums, and 80 cultural attractions, all amounting to an estimated value of 50 billion dollars. However, as the country reevaluates its Vision 2030 priorities, projects of such scale are increasingly seen as financially untenable. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is now focusing on more pragmatic and high-profile initiatives, including infrastructure for Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup, the sprawling $60 billion Diriyah mixed-use cultural zone, and the Qiddiya tourism megaproject.
The NEOM megacity has faced a similar fate, with plans reportedly scaled back significantly. Originally designed as a 170-kilometer-long city 33 times the size of New York, NEOM was set to feature Oxagon, a floating eight-sided city, and Trojena, a ski resort slated to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Riyadh has since downsized the project, canceling the games, and repositioning NEOM to focus on industrial sectors, including data centers, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s push into artificial intelligence.
What makes this particularly troubling is not only the enormous waste of time and money but also the serious human rights implications of such megaprojects. The Saudi government has been accused of forcibly displacing members of the Howeitat tribe, who have lived for centuries in the Tabuk province, to make way for NEOM. Some tribe members were arrested or detained for resisting eviction, and in April 2020, an activist was shot dead shortly after posting videos protesting his removal. These developments highlight the human cost behind the Kingdom’s grandiose ambitions, raising urgent questions about the ethical and social consequences of pursuing such colossal projects.
Ultimately, Saudi Arabia’s retreat from these megaprojects underscores the limits of ambition when weighed against financial, practical, and human realities.