Watan-The Bloomberg agency has documented a new failure of the Crown Prince and de facto ruler of the Kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman’s known plan, Vision 2030.
The report stated that Riyadh, the Saudi capital, is expected to backtrack on its goal of doubling its population by 2030, as part of reshaping plans designed to support Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trillion-dollar plan to diversify the kingdom’s economy.
The agency cited informed sources as saying that Riyadh has reduced its population target from 15 million to currently aiming for a total population of 10 million by 2030.
According to the agency, this move comes as the Kingdom, which aims to transition into a new global hub for everything from tourism to mining and chip manufacturing, reconsiders its top priorities for the Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia plans to attract foreign workers and international tourists, which would help the country generate revenues from a wide range of sectors.
The agency forecasted that Riyadh’s population would grow by 1.8% this year to exceed 7.8 million and surpass 8.5 million by 2030, according to the “World Population Review” magazine.
Data from the World Population Bureau shows that Saudi Arabia as a whole is home to about 36.5 million people.
Saudi Arabia’s scaling back of ambitions
In a previous report by Bloomberg, the agency stated that Saudi Arabia had scaled back its ambitions regarding the NEOM project, the largest within Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to diversify the country’s economy away from oil.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia had planned for NEOM, the futuristic city with an estimated cost of around $500 billion, which includes parallel skyscrapers covered in mirrors stretching over 170 kilometers between mountainous and desert terrain, to accommodate around 1.5 million people by 2030.
But now, Saudi officials expect the project to accommodate fewer than 300,000 residents by that date, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The source, who requested anonymity, added that officials expect only 2.4 kilometers of the project to be completed by 2030.
The Saudi government finds itself bearing the brunt of the spending on these giant projects.
As a result, at least one contractor has laid off a number of workers employed at the site, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.
Representatives of NEOM and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns and funds the project, declined to comment on requests for comment, according to Bloomberg.
In addition to the Line project, NEOM’s plans, with a total value of $1.5 trillion, include the establishment of an industrial city, ports, and tourist facilities. It is also scheduled to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029 in a mountain resort called “Trujina.”
Informed sources said that work is ongoing in other parts of the broader NEOM project, and officials remain optimistic about the overall goals of the Line project.
For example, another development project within NEOM is set to open this year, transforming an island in the Red Sea into a luxury tourist destination called “Sandal.”
The sources familiar with the matter added that the slowdown in the Line project comes at a time when the sovereign wealth fund has not yet approved NEOM’s budget for 2024.