Saudi Arabia's NEOM Mega-Project Faces Scale-Back, Impacting Thousands of Nepali Workers
Summary
Saudi Arabia is scaling back its NEOM mega-city project, causing thousands of Nepali workers to face job losses and potential economic impacts on Nepal due to declining remittances.
Key Points
- Saudi Arabia has cut major construction contracts on the NEOM project, leading to job losses for approximately 80,000 Nepali workers.
- The NEOM project's estimated cost has soared from $500 billion to around $8.8 trillion, and its completion may take over 50 years.
- Saudi Arabia is reprioritizing its investments towards projects like the 2030 World Expo and 2034 FIFA World Cup, delaying parts of NEOM until after 2030.
- The potential return of displaced Nepali workers could reduce Nepal's monthly remittances by over 2.36 billion rupees, impacting its economy significantly.
