The year 2020 has passed, and the first quarter of 2021 is about to end, yet many of the rosy promises of Mohamed bin Salman in his Vision 2030 have not yet been fulfilled.
The biggest promise of this vision is the city of “Neom”, where there are no tangible results on the ground of desert lands that sought development in the near past.
After announcing the megacity project, “Neom”, MBS confirmed to the international press that a bright future awaits Saudi Arabia upon the completion of the construction of this project, in which the first municipality of it would be completed; the touristic city of Rivera, by 2020.
In a statement in 2018 with the American “Bloomberg” agency, which coincided with Khashoggi's disappearance inside the consulate, MBS described Neom as a “state within a state”, stressing that the first cities to be built in this “inner” state will be “Neom Rivera”, which was planned to be an “attractive” tourist destination full of resorts and stunning scenery.
MBS also promised that Neom will consist of 12 cities, with six small towns, some in the valley and some in the mountains, in addition to a “huge” industrial zone, a seaport, three domestic airports, and a large international airport, all of which are scheduled to be completed within five years at the latest since announcing the project.
Today we are in 2021, and tangible progress has not been made in building the “Rivera”. It is still, like the rest of Neom, just desert and sand.
The entire city is still not built except for a number of royal palaces and an airport. We have not seen industrial, health, or even social progress.
Practically speaking; NEOM's mission is now limited to holding meetings between the king and his son and the leaders of other countries, to discuss purely political matters that have nothing to do with industry, technology, or science.
The announcement of “NEOM” also included many “bright” promises about the abundant good that the city will bring to the country, and the state of economic recovery, job opportunities for thousands of Saudi youths, however, the situation currently is the total opposite.
Many years have passed, and the people saw nothing but Al-Hawitat tribe being forced to evacuate their homes to make way for Neom.
Khashoggi was killed on the day MBS announced Rivera, and less than two years later Abdul Rahim Al-Huwaiti was killed.
MBS did not fulfill any of his promises, and did not achieve anything to boast about, as if selling illusions and shedding blood are the only languages known to the current Saudi regime.
