Failed beach party left boss of Saudi Neom project high and dry

Sindalah, a Saudi island getaway for ultra-rich yacht owners, was meant to give the world its first look at Neom, the $1.5 trillion project to turn a deserted region into a futuristic city and tourism hub.
It had been announced with fanfare by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman two years ago. When Sindalah finally opened its doors to the first visitors last month on the sidelines of a high-powered business convention in Riyadh, Neom threw a beach party featuring a performance by Alicia Keys with stars such as Will Smith in the crowd.
It was a “milestone” that “reaffirms Neom’s ability to conceive and deliver new and exciting destinations” and “offers visitors a first glimpse of what the future holds”, said Nadhmi al-Nasr, Neom’s chief executive since 2018.
Prince Mohammed sacked him two weeks later.
Nasr had for months been rumoured to be on his way out, but the abrupt departure led to speculation over why the prince had finally let him go. His tenure at Neom, the kingdom’s most ambitious — and derided — project, which includes The Line, a planned linear city encased in mirrors along the Red Sea, has been beset with delays and controversies from the start.
He once boasted about driving his employees like slaves but had little progress to show for it. Neom is also meant to include Trojena, a ski destination with artificial snow that will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, and a planned stadium to host the 2034 World Cup.
But Sindalah was the final straw for Prince Mohammed, one insider said. The prince, who chairs the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) that owns Newcastle United and also sits on Neom’s board of directors, views the project as key to reforming the oil-reliant economy and turning the once ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom into a tourism and finance hub.
Sindalah was meant to silence Neom’s critics. Its opening was announced by Ahmed al-Khateeb, the powerful tourism minister, who also sits on the PIF board, in an interview with The Times, promising that it would surprise the sceptics.
“In the past when we announced Neom the Red Sea people were challenging us and debating whether Saudi Arabia is serious about these big plans. Now they can come and try it,” he said in March.
When it finally opened Prince Mohammed was unimpressed, four sources told The Times.
The project designed by the Italian firm Luca Dini was “merely average” for the amount of money put into it, one source said, while Prince Mohammed believed it should be one of a kind. Nasr rented 40 yachts to boost the numbers turning out for the event, on top of the 40 guests who came on their own boats, one person familiar with the matter said.
Neom declined to comment on Nasr’s departure, aside from giving a statement that announced that he had left his post and naming an interim executive. The statement also said that Neom was entering “a new phase of delivery”.
Sindalah should have been a low bar for Nasr, whose construction background and record of delivering at the Saudi oil giant Aramco had recommended him to the post. Other, albeit less ambitious, Saudi projects such as the Red Sea Development, which includes hotels on islands along the coast, and Diriyah Gate in Riyadh, have met their targets.
Over the past year Saudi Arabia has been forced to rethink the project as it tightens its belt with lower oil prices and projected budget deficits.
As the delivery dates for the projects near, finances are tightening and more executives can expect to be held accountable, one banker in the region said. The project had already reprioritised its goals before Nasr’s departure to deliver the ski resort first, by 2029, and focus on getting at least a section of The Line built.
“It’s about, ‘Is he able to deliver what MBS wants delivered?’ He hasn’t and he paid for it,” said the banker, who requested anonymity.
The Line, which had been advertised as a 180km-long, 200m-wide city encased in glass and running on clean energy, would be touted at roadshows and presentations to sceptical investors.
Privately, people familiar with the project had said all along that The Line, which consists of units roughly 0.8km long, would be built in stages, with possibly 3km constructed over a decade, while casting doubt on its projected population by 2033.
“They’ll need someone who can sell the project and someone who can get investments,” one source said.
The banker said, however, that the question was whether Neom would adapt its plans, which have failed to attract foreign investment, to something more realistic. “How can you adapt it to something more believable?”