Saudi Arabia’s grandiose Neom megaproject, valued at a staggering $500 billion and featuring the linear urban development known as ‘The Line’, is reportedly encountering financial headwinds, according to a recent Business Insider article. For the initial time since its inception in 2017, the kingdom has extended an invitation to potential investors to experience the cutting-edge city from within.
Neom embodies a vision to erect a city stretching in a continuous line, powered entirely by renewable energy sources. In a quest for fresh investment, Neom’s representatives have embarked on a journey, with stops including China and Hong Kong, though the details of these pitches remain undisclosed.
Compounding the funding challenges, a Bloomberg report earlier this month revealed a significant scale-back of The Line, by 98.6%. Originally, as part of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s 2030 vision, The Line was envisaged to span 170 kilometres, providing a home for over 1.5 million inhabitants.
However, in the face of fiscal pressures, the plan has been drastically revised to a mere 2.4 kilometres, with a projected population under 30,000 residents. In a bid to secure additional funds, the Neom project is also considering the issuance of bonds for the first time, potentially raising as much as $1.3 billion.
Officials from Neom have not limited their search for capital to Asia, extending their outreach to global financial hubs such as Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, New York City, Boston, Washington, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, and London.