Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that the financial realities of the project, which could cost as much as $1.5 trillion, have begun to worry the Saudi government.
In an apparent effort to refute some of these claims, Saudi Economy Minister Faisal Al Ibrahim told CNBC that all Neom projects were continuing at their planned scale.
“There is no change in scale. This is a long-term project and modular in design,” he said.
“These projects will be carried out at their scale and in a way that, in terms of priorities, meets the needs of the projects, the returns of these projects and the economic impact. It’s like minimizing any leakage, also minimizing any risk overheating,” he said.
Al Ibrahim also said the country was seeing growing investor interest in all Neom developments. The kingdom recently toured its Neom road show, making stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong with the apparent aim of attracting Chinese investors.
Representatives for Neom did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The comments come two days after the kingdom’s finance minister said the “challenges” meant adjustments would be made to aspects of its Vision 2030 plan, of which Neom is the centerpiece.
Speaking at a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh on Sunday, Mohammed Al Jadaan said the country would “change course” and “adjust” if necessary.
“We are going to reduce some projects, we are going to accelerate other projects,” he said during a session on global economic growth.
Saudi Arabia plans to open Sindalah, the megacity’s first region, by the end of the year.
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