Neom's advisers worry as future under review

Is an emergency review of project costs the beginning of the end for the $500bn boondoggle in the Saudi Arabian desert, asks

- Barney Macintyre

Neom has ordered a review of the scope and priority of projects after an emergency board meeting last week, putting in doubt hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to companies advising Saudi Arabia on its $500bn project to build a city of the future.

Staff have yet to be paid their bonuses for 2024, despite receiving them in early March the previous year, according to two people working on the project who spoke to The Observer. While bonuses have apparently been approved by Neom's board, late payment has fuelled concerns that Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman's landmark scheme is going to be redrawn, as the new management reviews contracts, allegations of corruption, cost overruns and pressure on cash.