> In 2022, Saudi Arabia announced one of its most ambitious endeavors to date: a sprawling ski resort in the heart of the dry Middle Eastern desert. It would feature ski slopes atop luxury hotel roofs, a lake hanging over a mountain cliff and a crystal skyscraper the size of the Eiffel Tower. The project — Trojena — is part of the planned megacity of Neom and designated to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. But set in a region with little snowfall, it’s becoming one of the most difficult tests yet of the kingdom’s ability to pull off Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s grand ambitions and meet commitments for influential international events.
> Estimated by business intelligence platform MEED to be a $19 billion undertaking and initially envisioned to be completed by 2026, the Gulf nation is confronting the challenge of getting Trojena ready in time for the games. For international events, key infrastructure is often required to be in place well in advance and Saudi Arabia risks missing some deadlines ahead of the games, according to multiple people involved in the project. Solutions like moving the games to another country may eventually need to be considered, although Saudi Arabia is likely to push to meet its commitments to host the tournament, some of the people said. Among concerns being raised is the challenge of pumping enough water up a mountain for a planned lake at Trojena, creating sufficient artificial snow and the difficulties of constructing at high altitudes in an area with complex topography.
> “The development of Neom, including Trojena, is progressing according to a phased plan that emphasizes international standards, long-term sustainability and legacy outcomes,” Neom said in a statement to Bloomberg. “Work on Trojena, Neom’s year-round mountain destination, continues.” At least one person familiar with the situation echoed that view and added that the development hadn’t seen significant budget cuts, which have hamstrung some other parts of Neom. Organizers of the Asian Winter Games are closely tracking progress at Trojena, and certain elements could be amended to ensure it’s ready to host the games, some of the people said. Contingency plans are a standard precaution for such big-ticket events, but a person familiar with the matter said it’s too soon for any decision on that front. The ski resort is a challenge that highlights the reckoning Riyadh faces over Neom, announced in 2017 to be one of the world’s biggest construction endeavors and now estimated to cost as much as $1.5 trillion — triple its initial price tag. The financial pressures created by those big ambitions have been on sharp display in recent days as the nation’s wealth fund slashed the value of its so-called giga projects, which include Neom and tourism ventures, by $8 billion. The Saudis now have a difficult choice: they can press ahead even as weaker oil prices deepen budget deficits, or scale back as they’ve begun to do on some developments.
> The stakes are high at home and overseas. These efforts are a vital part of the crown prince’s Vision 2030 economic transformation plan to cut reliance on oil revenues and tens of billions of dollars have already been spent on them. The kingdom has pledged to host a string of international events at such developments, including the 2034 men’s football World Cup. The 2029 winter games are set to feature Olympic-level athletes from China, Japan, South Korea, India and other nations. Previous editions attracted tens of thousands of fans for events including ice hockey, speed skating and snowboarding, in addition to skiing. “It’s a balancing act for them in terms of how much they want to push on the projects and the extent to which they can push subject to the significant restraints,” said Farouk Soussa, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s economist for the Middle East and North Africa. “The amount of oil money they have, liquidity in the system, financing options. These are all constraints.”
> Trojena is one of at least five different regions planned for Neom, which is expected to include everything from 106-mile-long mirrored skyscrapers called The Line to a floating industrial city and lavish hotels suspended over desert lagoons. And it’s adding to the pile of problems already building up within the city. Plans for The Line have faced delays and some projects within it — including a football stadium that’s supposed to house 46,000 seats at a height of 350 meters on top of The Line for the 2034 FIFA tournament — will be complicated to engineer. Sindalah, a luxury island that was the first part of the megacity to open, is still not available for public use despite a soft launch late last year that saw the crown prince invite guests to stay at the resort, people familiar with the matter said. The status of the various construction sites at Neom is based on interviews with several people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing confidential information. Satellite images show construction underway at Trojena. Maxar, a commercial satellite imagery firm, said its analysis showed facilities at Sindalah were mostly complete as of the end of last year, but the golf course looked more fallow by December. Images from Planet Labs as of July indicate a lack of grass at the golf course, while some of the buildings present in December appear to no longer show up.
No1PaulKeatingfan on
> a sprawling ski resort in the heart of the dry Middle Eastern desert
Beyond comedy
puffic on
It’s hilarious to me that this ski resort in the Arabian desert is already booked for a sporting event, the Asian Winter Games, in 2029.
justkillmeonce on
As an Indian liberal, I cannot wait for Saudis to start having financial problems and their clownish monarchy to lose power.
Wahabism has done more damage to the subcontinent than you could imagine. This pathetic ideology created by goat herders in the middle of the Arabian desert has taken over islam in the south asian region. All thanks to the fact that those goat herders landed on endless money glitch.
It’s like level 1 Goblin ending up as powerful monster in RPG due to glitch in the system.
I desperately want sufism to become dominant among indian muslims once again.
modularpeak2552 on
Is this one of those situations where nobody wanted to say anything for fear of reprisal? Becasue whenever I hear about an issue related to NEOM that’s exactly what it sounds like happened.
ElectricalShame1222 on
Anyone else say “what the hell does she have to do with this?” because you skimmed the headline?
6 Comments
> In 2022, Saudi Arabia announced one of its most ambitious endeavors to date: a sprawling ski resort in the heart of the dry Middle Eastern desert. It would feature ski slopes atop luxury hotel roofs, a lake hanging over a mountain cliff and a crystal skyscraper the size of the Eiffel Tower. The project — Trojena — is part of the planned megacity of Neom and designated to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. But set in a region with little snowfall, it’s becoming one of the most difficult tests yet of the kingdom’s ability to pull off Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s grand ambitions and meet commitments for influential international events.
> Estimated by business intelligence platform MEED to be a $19 billion undertaking and initially envisioned to be completed by 2026, the Gulf nation is confronting the challenge of getting Trojena ready in time for the games. For international events, key infrastructure is often required to be in place well in advance and Saudi Arabia risks missing some deadlines ahead of the games, according to multiple people involved in the project. Solutions like moving the games to another country may eventually need to be considered, although Saudi Arabia is likely to push to meet its commitments to host the tournament, some of the people said. Among concerns being raised is the challenge of pumping enough water up a mountain for a planned lake at Trojena, creating sufficient artificial snow and the difficulties of constructing at high altitudes in an area with complex topography.
> “The development of Neom, including Trojena, is progressing according to a phased plan that emphasizes international standards, long-term sustainability and legacy outcomes,” Neom said in a statement to Bloomberg. “Work on Trojena, Neom’s year-round mountain destination, continues.” At least one person familiar with the situation echoed that view and added that the development hadn’t seen significant budget cuts, which have hamstrung some other parts of Neom. Organizers of the Asian Winter Games are closely tracking progress at Trojena, and certain elements could be amended to ensure it’s ready to host the games, some of the people said. Contingency plans are a standard precaution for such big-ticket events, but a person familiar with the matter said it’s too soon for any decision on that front. The ski resort is a challenge that highlights the reckoning Riyadh faces over Neom, announced in 2017 to be one of the world’s biggest construction endeavors and now estimated to cost as much as $1.5 trillion — triple its initial price tag. The financial pressures created by those big ambitions have been on sharp display in recent days as the nation’s wealth fund slashed the value of its so-called giga projects, which include Neom and tourism ventures, by $8 billion. The Saudis now have a difficult choice: they can press ahead even as weaker oil prices deepen budget deficits, or scale back as they’ve begun to do on some developments.
> The stakes are high at home and overseas. These efforts are a vital part of the crown prince’s Vision 2030 economic transformation plan to cut reliance on oil revenues and tens of billions of dollars have already been spent on them. The kingdom has pledged to host a string of international events at such developments, including the 2034 men’s football World Cup. The 2029 winter games are set to feature Olympic-level athletes from China, Japan, South Korea, India and other nations. Previous editions attracted tens of thousands of fans for events including ice hockey, speed skating and snowboarding, in addition to skiing. “It’s a balancing act for them in terms of how much they want to push on the projects and the extent to which they can push subject to the significant restraints,” said Farouk Soussa, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s economist for the Middle East and North Africa. “The amount of oil money they have, liquidity in the system, financing options. These are all constraints.”
> Trojena is one of at least five different regions planned for Neom, which is expected to include everything from 106-mile-long mirrored skyscrapers called The Line to a floating industrial city and lavish hotels suspended over desert lagoons. And it’s adding to the pile of problems already building up within the city. Plans for The Line have faced delays and some projects within it — including a football stadium that’s supposed to house 46,000 seats at a height of 350 meters on top of The Line for the 2034 FIFA tournament — will be complicated to engineer. Sindalah, a luxury island that was the first part of the megacity to open, is still not available for public use despite a soft launch late last year that saw the crown prince invite guests to stay at the resort, people familiar with the matter said. The status of the various construction sites at Neom is based on interviews with several people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing confidential information. Satellite images show construction underway at Trojena. Maxar, a commercial satellite imagery firm, said its analysis showed facilities at Sindalah were mostly complete as of the end of last year, but the golf course looked more fallow by December. Images from Planet Labs as of July indicate a lack of grass at the golf course, while some of the buildings present in December appear to no longer show up.
> a sprawling ski resort in the heart of the dry Middle Eastern desert
Beyond comedy
It’s hilarious to me that this ski resort in the Arabian desert is already booked for a sporting event, the Asian Winter Games, in 2029.
As an Indian liberal, I cannot wait for Saudis to start having financial problems and their clownish monarchy to lose power.
Wahabism has done more damage to the subcontinent than you could imagine. This pathetic ideology created by goat herders in the middle of the Arabian desert has taken over islam in the south asian region. All thanks to the fact that those goat herders landed on endless money glitch.
It’s like level 1 Goblin ending up as powerful monster in RPG due to glitch in the system.
I desperately want sufism to become dominant among indian muslims once again.
Is this one of those situations where nobody wanted to say anything for fear of reprisal? Becasue whenever I hear about an issue related to NEOM that’s exactly what it sounds like happened.
Anyone else say “what the hell does she have to do with this?” because you skimmed the headline?