Saudi Arabia has scaled back its medium-term ambitions for the desert development of NEOM, the biggest project within Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans for diversifying the oil-dependent economy, according to people familiar with the matter. 

By 2030, the government at one point hoped to have 1.5 million residents living in THE LINE, a sprawling, futuristic city it plans to contain within a pair of mirror-clad skyscrapers.  Now, officials expect the development will house fewer than 300,000 residents by that time, according to a person familiar with the matter.

As a result, at least one contractor has started to dismiss a portion of the workers it employs on the site, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

Representatives for NEOM and the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, the main entity that owns and is funding the project, declined to comment.

Read the full story at Times of India and Bloomberg