Saudi Arabia plans to release an amended Vision 2030 programme, signalling that the kingdom is officially moving away from grandiose megaprojects towards traditional industry, where it hopes to gain a competitive advantage. Saudi Arabia’s finance minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, told Bloomberg on Monday that the country wants to communicate its updated strategy.

He said tourism, manufacturing, logistics, and technology will receive greater focus, but did not specify when the strategy would be released. The reality is that Saudi Arabia has already pivoted from the original plans of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s effort to reduce the kingdom's reliance on oil revenue.

NEOM, a Red Sea development with luxury beach hotels, a ski resort, and a 170km-long, futuristic city called "THE LINE”, is being redesigned and substantially downsized, the Financial Times reported.

AI has emerged as one of the new focal points of Vision 2030. At a time when energy prices in the US are rising because of data centres, Saudi Arabia is pitching itself as a destination, with plentiful, cheap energy thanks to its fossil fuel dominance. Electricity prices in Saudi Arabia are anywhere from 30 to 50 percent cheaper than the global average, experts say.  

NEOM has always had a tourism focus, and the kingdom introduced new laws in January to allow foreigners to buy property.

Saudi Arabia has also been pressuring companies seeking to do business in the kingdom to invest in or base their headquarters in the country. Ceer is a joint venture between Saudi's sovereign wealth fund and Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn.

Read the full story at Middle East Eye