Saudi Arabia’s new £390bn megacity faces a new problem as companies issue shock warning | World

In a new human rights report, companies involved in Neom have been warned that they should consider the “political and reputational risks” of a new megaproject in Saudi Arabia.

Neom is a flagship project of Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” development plan, aimed at diversifying the country’s economy and culture away from oil and gas, and a plan to transform a barren desert into an ultra-modern city and tourism hotspot for a million people.

The plans include The Line metropolis, which would stretch 170 km through the desert, and a mountain ski resort. Estimates put the total cost of the project at between £387 billion ($500 billion) and £1.16 trillion ($1.5 trillion).

However, pressure is mounting on the country’s authorities to address the wide range of abuses.

A recent ITV documentary reported that 21,000 migrant workers have died in Saudi Arabia since Vision 2030 began in 2016. However, Saudi Arabia’s National Council for Occupational Safety and Health called it “disinformation.”

Now ALQST, a human rights group founded in 2014 by Saudi activist and former Saudi Air Force officer Yahya Assiri, has published a report: “Neom: Human Rights and Environmental Impact Assessment.”

The authority said it had prepared a report based on both first-hand and open source information to verify the facts regarding the claims made against Neom, New civil engineer reported.

Its aim is to “highlight its impact on human rights and the environment and draw attention to the political and reputational risks of those involved or considering involvement in this mega-enterprise.”

While Neom is presented as “the world’s leading new concept for sustainable future living,” ALQST called out Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying Neom “creates an aura of Saudi modernity and globalism that is used to consolidate the personal authority of its author, Mohammed bin Salman , and give false legitimacy to his repressive one-man rule.”

The report also makes direct reference to the companies involved in the megaproject, stating: “Neom should be viewed as an overly ambitious vanity project that presents both human rights and environmental challenges. Many senior staff working on Neom have resigned due to unrealistic specifications and a lack of expertise and transparency required to bring the project to life.”

It calls on engineering and construction companies including Mott MacDonald, Jacobs and Aecom to reconsider their position, but says that if they must continue, they have a “significant potential impact on publicizing human rights violations as it will not be possible to complete the project” without investment and foreign support.”

“In light of the human rights violations that have already occurred in the initial stages of Neom’s construction, as well as the adverse environmental impact that will be associated with its full implementation,” the report continues, “we call on investors and contractors involved in the project to use all available means to call for an end to human rights violations in connection with Neom, and in particular to call for the release of Huwaitat tribesmen who have been unjustly imprisoned.”

Express.co.uk has contacted Neom, Mott MacDonald, Jacobs and Aecom for comment.