We thought we had seen everything about the futuristic city of Neom. A document has revealed what Saudi Arabia hidden: its cost

At the beginning of March Neom He was news again. Satellite images through Google showed that the expansion of its port had experienced a significant transformation as Part of oxagonthe “Pata” futuristic “leg” of Neom. Once again, the hyperbole flooded a project that was born exaggerated and that, perhaps, dies exactly the same.

Dreams and chaos. We have treated countless times the project in Saudi Arabia. Neom is An ambitious project destined to transform the country into a global center of technology and businesses, which faces serious problems that have questioned their viability.

As we will see below, despite the 50,000 million dollars already invested, uncontrolled costs, mass delays and a management model full of illusions and financial concealment have turned this megaproject into A monumental challenge For the heir prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).

A start to trompicones. The spectacular Inauguration event On October on the island of Sindalah, with the presence of celebrities such as Will Smith, Tom Brady and Alicia Keys, today it is seen from another perspective. The reason? One was hidden less glamorous reality: The constructions They were incompletethe budgets had been tripled and the heir prince himself was unexpectedly absent, a gesture interpreted by many as a sign of disapproval.

Not just that. Weeks later, the CEO of Neom It ended up being replacedand a new executive team took control in a desperate attempt to straighten the project.

Futuristic promises vs reality. No doubt, Neom was conceived as a city of the future with science fiction elements, including in equation A The Linethat pair of skyscrapers 170 km long and 500 meters high (then trimmed in the budget); Trojenathe skiing station in the desert; Oxagona kind of floating business and industrial district; either Sindalaha spectacular luxury resort in the Red Sea.

However, reality It has been very different. Delays of more than three years in Sindalah, which still does not open its hotels or golf course, while Neom has to face A cut of your first phasewhich puts at risk attract the necessary population to justify the investment. To this we must add overflowing costs: It is estimated that Neom It will cost 8.8 billion dollars By 2080, more than 25 times the annual budget of the country. Plus: obvious logistics challenges, since construction in the desert lacks the necessary basic infrastructure (labor, roads, ports and electricity).

The financial disaster is uncovered. And so we arrive at the news of this week that has made the viability of the project jump through the air. An internal report of more than 100 pages, Reviewed by The Wall Street Journalhas revealed that the executives of Neom, with the support of the consultant McKinsey & Co., have been altering financial estimates to justify the increase in costs. In other words: the report found “evidence of deliberate manipulation” of figures to hide the real expense.

In trojena, for example, when the cost is shot at 10 billion Of dollars, instead of reducing expenses, income expectations were inflated, artificially raising hotels and luxury camps rates. There are more. For example, the projected rate of a boutique hotel It went from $ 489 to $ 1,866 by night. And luxury “glamping” rose from $ 216 to $ 704 per night. McKinsey, who has charged More than 130 million dollars A year in fees for Neom, he validated these projections after another advisor refused to do so, according to the audit.

The role of the prince. We already counted a few weeks ago that the project has started A monumental palace For the man behind the pharaonic project. The heir prince has been directly involved in each key decision, supervising architectural designs and promoting ideas Inspired by video games and science fiction movies. Some of its proposals include a “zero gravity” architecturethat challenges physical laws; or “El Candelabro”, a 30 -story skyscrapers suspended face down from a bridge; either Floating theaters between skyscrapers and a amusement park 300 meters high.

When engineers have tried to reduce The Line height to save costs, Bin Salman He rejected the ideainsisting that the 500 meters high should be maintained. In another case, when The Line’s original architect, Thom Mayne, wanted to express concerns about excessive costs, Neom’s executives simply They blocked their access to the prince.

Cuts and crisis. It has been the consequence. With the out of control costs, the Saudi government has begun to modify the deadlines and expectations. The initial construction of The Line was reduced from 10 km Just 1.5 km. A 30 km tunnel For trains it was canceled by excessive uprights. Finally, the goal of having the first functional section by 2030 has Delayed at 2034.

That said, and despite the measures adopted, the prince and the Saudi Sovereign Fund They are still betting on the projectalthough they have begun to describe it as “a generational investment”, instead of an immediate growth source for Vision 2030.

Time, of course, will issue a sentence, but today is approaching an example of quite unrealistic planninguncontrolled expense and lack of financial supervision. The futuristic city of the desert, conceived as the “civilizational revolution” of Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, seems to be trapped in a clash between fantasy and reality, already despite the billions of inverted millions, its success remains, at least, highly uncertain.

Image | Google

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