Ever since NEOM was first announced in 2017, it has been a constant, personal distraction. It seems this is now a universal sentiment. Among journalists, the competition is intense to scoop every fantastical detail about the project in the largely uninhabited northwestern corner of Saudi Arabia. It’s the same among businesses: Foreign companies spent years buzzing about deals linked to the $500 billion ($1 trillion, $1.5 trillion?) gigaproject, although it looks like consultants were the ones who made off with the fat profits for their fancy slide decks.

It’s always been hard for me to feign excitement. Having covered the disappointment of King Abdullah Economic City near Jeddah and Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mousaed Economic City (the latter downgraded to a truck depot near Hail) a generation ago, I knew the action was elsewhere. Indeed, what flowed to NEOM — $31 billion since 2019, according to Bloomberg — pales in comparison to Aramco’s annual capital expenditure ($50 billion last year), or the massive developments underway in Riyadh. Where people actually live.

To be sure, pushing out NEOM’s timeline does have reputational effects. Saudi Arabia has marketed the project as the core of its transformation and vision for the future. And perhaps the kingdom has a sunk cost problem as well. But if projections of a $1.5 trillion price tag are real (and construction estimates usually trend higher), then halting or slowing down now could save a trillion. Some projects — including resorts, the port, and the industrial zone — may still be viable.

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