Veolia was to participate in the construction of a huge seawater desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. The project was ultimately canceled following forecasted drops in water needs. The cancellation is another sign that Neom’s development is not going as planned.
It’s a huge project, which was to be installed in the floating city of Oxagon, and which has just been canceled by Saudi Arabia. A seawater desalination plant, the construction of which was to require between 1.5 and 2 billion dollars of investment and in which Veolia was to participate, will ultimately not see the light of day. Oxagon is a port, industrial zone and floating city project currently under construction in Saudi Arabia. The city is part of the vast Neom development project, which also includes The Line, the straight-line dystopian city built in the desert, and Trojena, a ski resort.
The joint development agreement for the project, which was signed between Neom, the Japanese company Itachu and Veolia in December 2022, has expired, specialist media MEED has learned. The agreement not having been renewed, the project was therefore canceled, explains the newspaper in an article published on May 17, 2024. Contacted, Neom explained that the cancellation of the project was due to changes in forecasts in needs in water in the region — “ As a result, we have decided to terminate our joint development agreement for this project. »
A super ambitious project
The desalination plant project was very important. In the original agreement, it was stated that the structure would run on 100% renewable energy, and that it would provide 30% of the total drinking water demand for residents, industries and businesses in the area. the region, ” with a production capacity of 500,000 m3 of desalinated water per day. »
The factory was above all presented as a major technological innovation, thanks to processes which should make it possible to reduce waste and promote the use of derived products. The technology used should even “ be exported to other countries to combat global water scarcity », It was announced at the time.
The abandonment of the project is yet another sign that the construction of Neom is not going quite as planned. Bloomberg revealed in April that The Line, which was to be fully completed in 2030, should ultimately not be finished by that date. Instead of the 170 km planned, only 2.4 km of construction should be ready in 2030, and only 300,000 inhabitants are now expected – out of the initial 9 million.
Saudi Arabia has never commented on the Bloomberg information, but the shutdown of a project which was to provide 30% of the region’s water resources seems to confirm that Neom will undergo a reduction in scale. Above all, the region is very, very expensive for the government, which finances its development: the construction of all the projects is expected to cost the kingdom $1.5 trillion. A staggering sum, which pushed the country to take out bank loans, and even to seek Chinese investments.
Neom is especially criticized for being a totally dystopian project, very bad for the environment and completely alienating for the inhabitants. Additionally, the Saudi government is accused of allowing the military to kill opponents of The Line project.
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