Construction on NEOM’s biggest development, the 175km-long and 500m-tall skyscraper known as The Line, has slowed significantly amid the review by the PIF and NEOM management, the people familiar said, leading to contractors also significantly reducing their labor force, affecting thousands of workers.
However, work is continuing on other parts of NEOM, including the ski resort Trojena, an industrial city and port called Oxagon, and the world’s largest green hydrogen plant. Several senior executives have been reallocated from The Line to focus on these other projects, the people said. Trojena was intended to be the site for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, but the government has now admitted it won’t be ready.
Another plan to develop a series of futuristic-looking hotels along the Red Sea coast, collectively known as Magma, has been put on hold, the people said.
The new chief of staff division will report to CEO Aiman al-Mudaifer, who was appointed in May 2025 following the departure of Nadhmi Al-Nasr.
While the outlook for NEOM is currently unclear pending the strategic review, PIF has said it will designate the project as one of several “ecosystems” that it focuses its investments on, along with other areas including travel and tourism, advanced manufacturing, industry and logistics, and clean energy.
NEOM was considering laying off more than 1,000 employees and relocating a similar number to Riyadh in an attempt to cut costs, Semafor reported in July.