Saudi Arabia breaks silence about Neom's 'The Line' being 'scaled back'

A Saudi minister has broken silence over recent claims suggesting that Riyadh's Neom mega project's 'The Line' has been scaled back from an initial distance of 170 kilometres to only 2.4 km.

In a recent World Economic Forum interview in Riyadh, published by CNBC earlier this week, Faisal Al Ibrahim, Saudi Arabia minister of economy and planning gave an update on the country's much-awaited mega project, New Civil Engineer reported.

Al Ibrahim said: "All projects are moving full steam ahead. We set out to do something unprecedented and we're doing something unprecedented, and we will deliver something that's unprecedented."

He emphasised that the country will "continue delivering these projects in a manner that meets these priorities, delivers these projects and has the optimal healthy impact for our economy and the non-oil, the healthy non-oil growth within it."

He confirmed that the "intended scale" of Neom was "continuing as planned", without giving an update on timeframe.

"There is no change in scale," he said. "It is a long-term project that's modular in design."

Earlier this month, Bloomberg and other outlets reported that 'The Line' was being cut from 170km long to 2.4km, citing comments from a person familiar with Neom.

According to New Civil Engineer, Neom is Saudi Arabia's mega project and an attempt to become independent from oil and gas exports.

It includes a range of projects in the Tabuk region, such as Trojena artificial lake, The Oxagon mega port, 'The Line' and resort destinations, which in total has cost estimates ranging from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Saudi government is seeking additional external investment in Neom, which has so far received $925 billion funding under management by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), its national sovereign wealth fund, according to its website.