Saudi Arabia set to redraw economic road map as megaprojects scale down

Almost a decade after launching the Vision 2030 programme to diversify its oil-dependent economy, Saudi Arabia is redirecting its spending away from attention-grabbing futuristic urban projects into sectors that hold more promise to deliver results.Since last year, the programme has undergone a review following a US$8 billion writedown at the end of 2024. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has scaled down glitzy projects significantly, such as the US$500 billion 170km (105 mile) long flat city, The Line, in the northwest Neom region.The value of construction contracts awarded by Saudi authorities plunged by 72 per cent year on year during the second quarter of 2025, according to an investor briefing issued by Kuwait-based asset manager KAMCO Investment in July.The US$925 billion PIF sovereign wealth fund is expected to soon announce a revision to Saudi Vision 2030, first unveiled in 2016. Saudi officials have already identified artificial intelligence and technology, logistics and transport, mining and tourism as Riyadh’s new focal areas.Neom was not mentioned in the 2026 budget announced in early December, by Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launches The Line in January 2021. Photo by Saudi Royal Palace/Bandar Al-Jaloud/AFPThis first omission of Neom since the project was unveiled in 2017 showed that the country’s megaprojects were being “recalibrated to ensure that they are delivering what they are meant to deliver”, Jadaan said.