Neom Development Contracts Terminated for Trojena Ski Resort and The Line Megacity

Several construction contracts for Saudi Arabia's Neom megaproject have been terminated, signaling potential delays. Steel company Eversendai announced its structural steel contract for the Trojena ski village was cancelled. Italian contractor Webuild also had its agreement to construct three dams for a freshwater lake at Trojena terminated. Additionally, Hyundai Engineering and Construction reported that its contract with Samsung Construction and Trading and Archirodon to build a tunnel for The Line city was cancelled. These cancellations follow reported construction delays on Trojena, which was originally scheduled for completion this year. The ski resort will also no longer host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which have been relocated to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Trojena was masterplanned by German architecture studio LAVA and was set to include buildings designed by UNStudio, Zaha Hadid Architects, and Aedas. Eversendai suggested the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East, involving conflicts between Iran, the US, and Israel, may have influenced Neom's decision, though the company stated its Middle East operations remain stable. The Line, a planned 170-kilometre-long city, has been significantly scaled back from initial plans to house 1.5 million residents by 2030 to 300,000, and its feasibility is under review by consultants for Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.