NEOM, Saudi Arabia's planned megacity in the desert, is popping up in influencer vlogs. Where is the project at?

By Nelli Saarinen, ABC News

NEOM, a massive infrastructure project by the Saudi Arabian government, has been advertised on social media for years with the help of otherworldly concept images and animations.

Vloggers showcasing their lives inside the urban development underway in the Saudi desert have been gaining traction on social media, but audiences have pointed out it does not look quite as glamorous as expected.

One influencer who shared vlogs showcasing her life in NEOM deactivated her TikTok account after her videos received backlash online.

Here is what NEOM is and what we know of the current state of the ambitious and controversial project.

What is NEOM?

NEOM is a US$500 billion (NZD$801b) infrastructure project and massive economic zone planned to be built in the Saudi Arabian desert.

The ambitious project, which was announced in 2017, was cultivated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to help diversify the country's oil-dependent economy. It's part of the prince's wider "Vision 2030" - his grand plan for the kingdom.

"NEOM is the land of the future where the greatest minds and best talents are empowered to embody pioneering ideas and exceed boundaries in a world inspired by imagination," according to the project's website.

The first major construction project announced as part of the development was The Line - a futuristic city 200 metres wide and 170 kilometres long.

A high-speed rail would run through the emission-free and car-free linear city, contained between two mirrored facades rising to a height of 488m.

The long and narrow desert city was to eventually house 9 million residents, the state news agency SPA cited the prince as saying.

"The city's vertically layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities," the prince said.

The colossal NEOM project promised to include flying taxis, ski slopes with artificial snow, an octagon-shaped floating business park and a Red Sea island resort.

What does life in NEOM currently look like?

Content shared on social media is giving the world a glimpse into what living in NEOM currently looks like.

NEOM resident Jessica Herman shared her family's life in what she called NEOM's "Community 1" on her since-deactivated TikTok account, which had a following of 17,000.

In one video, titled "my evening on Neom, Saudi Arabia", Herman filmed her walk from the family's apartment through a mostly desolate neighbourhood to what she referred to as "the dining hall" for dinner.

The video was re-shared by several users on X, where commenters described the look of the compound as "upmarket prison camp", "dystopian", "bleak" and "pretty basic".

Other TikTok influencers who have shared content of their life in Community 1, such as Sara Sarasid and Aida McPherson, have said that it is an area where NEOM employees and their family members live.

Many Western consultants and companies work on the project. Earlier this year, Australia's former Liberal assistant minister for innovation Wyatt Roy was appointed as NEOM's head of innovation.

It is not clear whether Community 1 is a temporary development while the project is under construction, or a permanent part of NEOM, but some users on social media have found the difference between user-generated social media content and official advertising jarring.

Where is the project at?

Estimates for NEOM have been scaled back significantly since they were first announced.

Reports have emerged in US media that the climbing costs of the project have caused alarm within the Saudi government and Prince Mohammed is now facing a reality check.

The Saudi government had previously said it wanted 1.5 million residents living in The Line by 2030, but Bloomberg reported in April that the number was more likely to be fewer than 300,000 by that date, citing anonymous sources.

The same report said officials now expect just a 2.4km stretch of the city to be completed by 2030.

The project's 2024 budget is yet to be approved by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns and funds the project.

The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Saudi Arabia was borrowing to help finance NEOM and other projects laid out in Vision 2030. Then, The Financial Times reported that Prince Mohammed might "finally" be open to having "tough conversations" about the execution of Vision 2030, citing a person familiar with the thinking at the PIF.

NEOM representatives and the PIF have not commented. Publicly, Saudi Arabian officials have said that all projects are going ahead as planned.

"All projects are moving full-steam ahead. We set out to do something unprecedented and we're doing something unprecedented," Economy Minister Faisal Alibrahim told CNBC.

International investment in NEOM dropped in the years following the brutal 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and Covid-19 delayed construction.

Why is NEOM controversial?

While advertising for NEOM says it is being built on empty land, people from the indigenous Saudi tribe al-Huwaitat say they have lived in the area for centuries.

Thousands of locals were forcibly removed to make way for the construction of The Line.

In May, the BBC reported that Saudi authorities had permitted the use of lethal force to clear land for the futuristic city, quoting ex-intelligence officer Col Alenezi.

One person was shot and killed for protesting against eviction, Alenezi said.

Others have cast doubt over whether the city will ever become reality and even labelled the project as pure science fiction fantasy.

"Quite a lot of the ideas that they're working on are drawn from and inspired by literal science fiction works, whether it be films or books or TV series," Bloomberg reporter Vivian Nereim, who spent six months looking into the project, told the ABC.

"There are architects and designers and scholars who are basically sent to draw inspiration from science fiction," she said.

Then, there is Saudi Arabia's general human rights record, including the imprisonment of activists who advocate for reform. Business Insider reported last year that a woman was jailed for 30 years for criticising the plans for NEOM on social media.

- ABC