{"id":104691,"date":"2026-01-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/?p=104691"},"modified":"2026-01-26T03:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T03:58:08","slug":"rethinking-neom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2026\/01\/26\/rethinking-neom\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Neom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning<\/strong>. It was a good November for the Kingdom\u2019s international trade, with our surplus logging a three-year high and oil exports continuing their recovery. Re-exports remained the biggest driver for non-oil exports growth.<\/p>\n

ALSO- <\/strong>A new healthcare player is eyeing to list 2 mn new shares on Nomu, as the parallel market is carefully recovering from a major 2025 downturn.<\/p>\n

AND- <\/strong>S&P sees GCC oil giants tightening their purses in 2026, slowing down their spending to focus on enhancing value chains and boosting upstream activities.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> BUT FIRST<\/strong> \u2014 A new vision for Neom? <\/strong>The government is reportedly redesigning Neom to be a hub for data centers, unnamed sources told the Financial Times<\/a>. The \u201cfar smaller\u201d development will be geared to serve the Kingdom\u2019s AI ambitions.<\/p>\n

Alternative designs that considerably scale back The Line \u2014 Neom\u2019s futuristic city \u2014 are <\/strong>also in the works<\/strong>, the sources told the salmon-colored paper, adding that \u201cThe Line will be a totally different concept. It will use the existing infrastructure in a totally different manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seems that management of the project will also see a shake up<\/strong>, with sources familiar with the matter telling AGBI<\/a> that restructure could entail transferring control of Neom from PIF to other state-backed entities. <\/p>\n

What they said: <\/strong>While steering clear of confirming the news, Neom said it\u2019s \u201calways looking at how to phase and prioritize our initiatives so that they align with national objectives and create long-term value\u201d in a statement to the Financial Times.<\/p>\n

Why it matters:<\/strong> The Kingdom\u2019s transformation strategy has been expanding beyond flagship engineering gigaprojects to other \u201cecosystems,\u201d<\/a> including AI and tourism. Gigaprojects like Neom have entered a year-long \u201ccomprehensive review\u201d<\/a> \u2014 set to wrap up in the next few months \u2014 amid tighter fiscal conditions<\/a>. Reconsidering Neom as an industrial and data center hub signals a bid to bring faster returns and support the government\u2019s long-term engineering investments.<\/p>\n

Recalibration and delays in other parts of Neom have also affected Riyadh\u2019s plans<\/strong>, including deferring<\/a> the 2029 Asian Winter Games \u2014 which was scheduled to take place at Neom\u2019s Trojena mountain resort.<\/p>\n

** Want a deeper dive? Check out <\/strong>our review<\/a><\/strong> of the Kingdom\u2019s shift in gigaproject <\/strong>focus.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Happening today<\/p>\n

The <\/strong>Real Estate Future Forum 202<\/a><\/strong>6<\/a><\/strong> kicks off today at the Four Seasons Kingdom <\/strong>Center in Riyadh<\/strong>, running until 28 January. Last year saw the National Housing Company (NHC) ink SAR 30 bn<\/a> worth of real estate agreements.<\/p>\n

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WEATHER<\/strong>- Keep your windows closed: <\/strong>Dust storms are set to make visibility drop below 1 km in parts of Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and Najran.<\/p>\n