A new WSJ report suggests that the Neom de Neom project, now eight years old – a futuristic and neutral carbon neutral city 105 miles long, envisaged by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – has become a financial chasm.
According to a expected cost of 8.8 additional billions, the country, which has already spent $ 50 billion, could face 55 years of additional construction, with an astonishing cost of 8.8 billions of dollars, according to an internal audit presented to the Board of Directors of Neom. This represents more than 25 times the annual budget of Saudi Arabia, notes the newspaper.
The situation is starting to look like Saudi Arabia WaterlooWith MBS poorly judged the monumental challenges inherent in his strategy, just as Napoleon did before him. Among the harsh realities threatening to derail the project are insufficient labor, inadequate roads and lack of electricity.
However, there are winners. The council giant McKinsey & Company would have won more than $ 130 million per year for its services, despite a controversy surrounds its role, given the involvement of the company both in the planning and validation of some of the financial projections of the project, in history. A spokesperson for McKinsey said to WSJ that the company has “strict protocols to prevent conflicts of interest for our commitments”.
