Saudi Arabia behind on desert ski resort and may not be able to host 2029 Asian games

Saudi Arabia is falling behind on the construction of a desert ski resort and has held internal talks about finding an alternative country to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, according to a new report by the Financial Times on Thursday.

The FT, citing five sources familiar with the project, claimed that construction of the ski resort Trojena is facing mounting engineering and logistical challenges. 

Trojena is part of Neom, the $500bn city in north-western Saudi Arabia. It is set to include ski slopes on top of luxury hotel roofs, a 3km-long, man-made lake filled with freshwater, and a hyper-modern hospitality and entertainment complex carved into the mountainside, known as The Vault.

However, several sources said that the project will not be completed in time to host the 2029 Asian Games unless its budget is significantly increased. 

The Vault in particular requires huge amounts of rock to be blasted out. Sources told the Financial Times that 3,000 tension cables need to be driven into the remaining rock walls before any construction can start.

However, contractors are only able to install one cable per day - which could mean The Vault takes eight years to build. 

Trojena, which is 2,600m above sea level, is due to have 30km of ski runs available between December and March each year. While there is some snow in the area, it is rare, and so the resort will rely completely on artificial snow. 

That snow will be produced from water pumped from the Gulf of Aqaba, which is 200km away. The water supply would also fill an artificial lake. 

However, the lake would need water to flow into it at full capacity for at least two years. That has not yet begun, and neither has the construction of Trojena’s main desalination plant. 

It means that the schedule for delivering key parts of the project ahead of the 2029 Asian Games could be extremely tight.

Currently, water is transported to Trojena for drinking and construction needs via tankers. There are no permanent rivers in Saudi Arabia. 

Neom scaled back amid budget constraints

Three sources said that Saudi officials had discussed approaching either South Korea or China to take over hosting the 2029 Asian Games. The hope would be that Saudi Arabia could host it four years later. 

Chinese and South Korean officials denied having held any talks with Riyadh on the matter. 

Former employees of the project told the Financial Times that contingency plans had been put in place to deliver the 2029 event, even if all the elements of Trojena were not ready.

Saudi Arabia reviewing Neom projects, citing 'limited resources': Report

Read More »

Neom is also intended to include a 170km straight-line city, an eight-sided city that floats on water and other grandiose projects. 

The straight line city has since been scaled back, with only 2.4km to be completed by 2030. 

Saudi Arabia’s finances have been significantly strained by a fall in crude oil prices, which currently sit at around $66 per barrel. 

In addition to the various Neom projects, Saudi Arabia will also host the 2034 Fifa World Cup, as well as the 2030 World Expo. Both events will require costly infrastructure, and may force the kingdom to scale back other grand projects.

The sporting and entertainment projects form part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s flagship Vision 2030 scheme, which aims to modernise the kingdom and diversify its economy away from reliance on oil. 

The Saudi government has been accused of forcibly displacing members of the Howeitat tribe, who have lived for centuries in Tabuk province, to make way for Neom. 

At least 47 members of the tribe were arrested or detained for resisting eviction. In April 2020, activist Abdul-Rahim al-Howeiti was shot dead by security forces shortly after making videos protesting against his eviction to make way for the megacity.