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Posted Sep 6, 2021, 7:24 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 24,177
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This is going nowhere.
My first question was ,"Where in the desert?" Because almost anywhere they are going to have to fight for their water unless the project includes a new water source such as desalinization plants that would then have to get all sorts of approvals for pipelines to bring the water from a coastline, whether in Mexico or the US, to its site.
The web site claims, "Fresh water is stored, cleaned and reused on site. Create a diverse and efficient water system that is resistant to drought." Stored/cl;eaned/used . . . OK. But it needs to come from somewhere in the first place and generally in the US treated sewage water is not considered suitable for human consumption, only for watering plants, architectural water features and such.
My next thought was of Neom, the Saudi Arabian attempt to do something similar. With a lot more political clout and money behind it, still things are not going well.
Quote:
Saudi Crown Prince’s Vision for Neom, a Desert City-State, Tests His Builders
By Rory Jones, Summer Said and Stephen Kalin
May 1, 2021 8:00 am ET
RIYADH—If Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman realizes his dream, a $500 billion city-state dubbed Neom will one day rise from the desert, transforming Saudi Arabia by drawing billions of dollars in new investment as the kingdom attempts to reduce its dependence on oil before its crude reserves run dry.
So far, however, Neom has been mired in delays and hit by an exodus of employees who are straining under the weight of the prince’s ambitious vision.
Engineers have struggled with demands to blow a hole a half-mile long and 30 stories high in the side of a mountain, to house a honeycomb of hotels and residences. Another directive to construct 10 palaces, each bigger than a football field, attracted more than 50 different designs, but left staff wondering whether anyone would purchase homes that could list at up to $400 million each, according to a review of the project’s plans and interviews with those who have been involved in Neom’s development.
At one board meeting last December, Prince Mohammed brushed aside urban planners who offered other, simpler plans for a pollution-free city, telling them to think bolder . . . .
The latest vision centers around a 106-mile-long carbon-neutral project called the Line, a linear city connected by a high-speed train, with no cars.
Four other developments—called Neom Bay, Aqaba Region, Neom Mountain and Neom Industrial City—are intended to surround it, and include the project to build a resort in a mountainside known as the Vault. The hope is for Neom to have 14 industrial sectors, including energy, food production and media, among others.
Some Neom employees and Saudi officials say they are skeptical the plans are feasible. The kingdom’s sovereign-wealth fund and finance ministry already have plowed more than $1 billion into initial infrastructure, master plans, consultants and employee wages—cash that some Saudi officials say they believe could have been put to better use elsewhere.
Other employees, both former and current, say they aren’t convinced that outside investors will buy into some of Neom’s proposals. They also doubt the kingdom can live up to plans for a new set of laws for the city to attract foreigners used to Western norms, such as alcohol consumption or for men and women to freely mingle.
The project has had some success attracting blue-chip firms. In partnership with U.S. chemical company Air Products & Chemicals Inc. and a Saudi firm, Neom plans to invest $5 billion to build what would be the world’s largest green hydrogen-production facility. The rationale for that project makes sense with or without a sprawling city-state around it: Neom’s location is blessed with world-class solar and wind power, making the plant attractive for Air Products to export globally . . . .
Neom has cycled through dozens of senior staff members during his tenure, many of them bristling at Mr. Nasr’s management style, these people say.
Some have walked away from contracts of up to $1 million a year. Others couldn’t return to Saudi Arabia last year as lockdowns limited travel, and at least one was subsequently fired, these people added.
Andrew Wirth, the former CEO of one of the U.S.’s biggest ski resorts, who headed the planned mountain resort at Neom, left in August after determining Mr. Nasr’s leadership style was, “consistently inclusive of disparagement and inappropriately dismissive and demeaning outbursts,” according to a resignation letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Other departures include the executive leading the Neom Bay development; the project’s investment fund; its legal team; and its tourism division. Also gone: two information-technology chiefs, two heads of marketing and two directors of communications . . . .
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-c...rs-11619870401
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