Neom replaces CEO in bid to move past negative headlines

• Real estate head takes over
• Megacity under funding pressure
• Projects in Riyadh taking precedence

Saudi megacity Neom has replaced its CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr in an apparent effort to boost the kingdom’s highest-profile giga-project after a string of delays. 

Aiman Al Mudaifer has been appointed “acting CEO of the company”, Neom said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Al Mudaifer assumes the leadership of Neom following Nadhmi Al Nasr’s departure.” 

The statement said Al Mudaifer had a “deep and strategic understanding” of Neom after serving as head of its local real estate division since 2018. 

Al Nasr, a veteran of state oil giant Aramco, had overseen the giga-project since its launch. 

Neom has been hit by bad press in recent months, with reports of construction delays, worker mistreatment and senior foreign nationals being overpaid. 

Its signature project, horizontal city The Line, will open in 2030 at less than 5km in length rather than the full 170km, which is now projected for 2045. 

Creative Commons / World Economic Forum

Neom has been forced to take a back seat as the Saudi government prioritises giga-projects and other developments in Riyadh after the city was chosen as the host of World Expo 2030. 

The giga-projects are already under funding pressure because of lower than expected global oil prices and lacklustre foreign direct investment. 

But Neom is still pushing against the clock as it aims to finish the winter resort of Trojena in time to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. The luxury island of Sindalah opened to visitors last month. 

An official revealed last month that Neom is currently using one fifth of the world’s steel. The project is raising more money through debt issues and loans from Chinese banks. 

• Neom raises $24 billion from the private sector
• Saudi Arabia scales down plans for 170km Line by 2030
• Neom ‘uses one fifth of world’s steel’

Neom announced the CEO change during a real estate conference in Riyadh, at which officials laid out details about The Line in an apparent effort to reassure contractors and the public that it is moving ahead on time. 

Live images of construction displayed at the Cityscape Global exhibition showed that building work has not moved beyond laying foundations while machinery is preparing the ground. 

Denis Hickey, The Line’s chief development officer, told the forum that more than 40,000 people were working in construction at the site.

“We’re doing the excavation around the foundations, and in 2025 we’ll be laying the slabs and building it all up,” he said.