Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city project Neom has announced the departure of long-time CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr in an abrupt leadership reshuffle.
The $500B project, a pillar of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from a reliance on oil, aims to transform the northwestern province of Tabuk into an audiovisual and tourism hub and state-of-the-art urban home for more than nine million people.
Neom’s board of directors put out a statement on Tuesday, announcing the appointment of Aiman Al-Mudaifer as Acting CEO, and alluding to Al-Nasr’s departure almost as an aside.
“As Neom enters a new phase of delivery, this new leadership will ensure operational continuity, agility and efficiency to match the overall vision and objectives of the project,” read the statement.
“Progress continues on all operations as planned, as we deliver the next phase of our vast portfolio of projects,” it continued, citing smart city The Line, industrial hub Oxagon, mountain resort Trojena and luxury beach resorts of Magna and The Islands of Neom.
Al-Nasr had been with the Neom since 2018, as the project was taking shape.
His departure follows news in recent months that some of the ambitious plans for the site had been scaled back, with Bloomberg reporting over the summer that the length of the The Line had been reduced to 1.9 miles (2.5km), against the previously announced 105-mile (170km) stretch it was supposed to run into the desert.
Neom has also been hit by accusations of abuse of construction workers, while the head of its Media Industries pole, Wayne Borg, left abruptly in September following a Wall Street Journey report saying it had heard recordings in which he made making discriminatory and racist comments.
Incoming Acting CEO Al-Mudaifer is also the head of PIF’s Local Real Estate Division at Saudia Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, The Public Investment Fund (PIF).
“Al-Mudaifer has a deep and strategic understanding of Neom and its projects. In his role at PIF, Eng. Al-Mudaifer oversees all local real estate investments and infrastructure projects. He is also a board member of multiple prominent companies within the Kingdom,” said the Neom statement.
