Just 18 months ago, the Architects Journal posed the question: ‘Should you work in Saudi Arabia?’  It seemed that, aside from a clutch of firms who told us they were actively avoiding commissions in the kingdom, almost every major UK practice was either setting up an outpost there or was already knee deep in masterplanning a mega project.

Only last month, chancellor Rachel Reeves flew out to Riyadh to bang the drum for UK businesses, following in the footsteps of her Conservative predecessors in government who controversially championed deeper economic ties with the country.

Yet, low oil prices coupled with having spent too quickly on those mega projects mean some of those mammoth developments – such as NEOM’s several regions – are apparently slowing down. The AJ hears of projects being scaled back or their timeframes readjusted, while others undergo financial and strategic reviews.

Nearly all Saudi projects come under crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 development drive, announced in 2016, steering the country away from oil and towards tourism, hospitality and real estate. Vision 2030 is financed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is heavily tied to oil.

Income from the nation’s vast oil and gas reserves is fuelling giant projects like NEOM, Qiddiya, Diriyha, AlUla, and many more, including Foster + Partners’ evolving plans for a 2km tower.

Read the full story at the Architects Journal