Saudi Arabia has suspended planned construction of a colossal cube-shaped skyscraper at the center of a downtown development in Riyadh while it reassesses the project's financing and feasibility, four people familiar with the matter said. The Mukaab, at the center of Riyadh's New Murabba development, is the latest fantastical gigaproject linked to Saudi's Vision 2030 to be curtailed or delayed as the kingdom's $925 billion sovereign wealth fund scales back ambitions to manage costs and prioritize spending.
Projects in focus now include infrastructure for World Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup, the sprawling $60 billion Diriyah mixed-use cultural zone and the Qiddiya tourism megaproject, five people familiar with the matter said. The repositioning also reflects mounting fiscal pressures as oil prices remain well below levels needed to fund the ambitious transformation agenda.
The Mukaab was planned as a 400-metre by 400-metre metal cube containing a dome with an AI-powered display, the largest on the planet, that visitors could observe from a more than 300-metre-tall ziggurat - or terraced structure - inside it.
Real estate consultancy Knight Frank estimated the New Murabba district would cost about $50 billion - roughly equivalent to Jordan's GDP - with projects commissioned so far valued at around $100 million.
Initial plans for the New Murabba district called for completion by 2030. It is now slated to be completed by 2040.
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