How Saudi Arabia’s Spending Spree Reached the End of the Line
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Sebastian Usher examines the troubled trajectory of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman‘s sweeping plan to transform Saudi Arabia’s economy, society, and global image. Once backed by a near $1 trillion Public Investment Fund (PIF), the plan promised futuristic megaprojects — most prominently the NEOM development, which included The Line, Trojena, and The Cube. Four years before the 2030 deadline, however, several of these flagship projects have been scaled back, shelved, or abandoned entirely, a victim of falling oil revenues, a shortfall in foreign investment, and a structural “yes man” culture that prevented honest assessment of their viability.
Usher draws on analysts including Ellen R Wald, Ghanem Nuseibeh, and Thamer Shaker to explore whether this retrenchment represents a sensible recalibration or a deeper admission of failure. The article traces Vision 2030’s three intended pillars — economic, social, and political transformation — finding mixed results: social changes in Saudi cities have been genuine, but political repression continues and the economic transformation remains only partly achieved. An escalating regional war and lingering reputational damage from the Khashoggi killing have further complicated the vision, leaving its future direction strategically uncertain.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Flagship Projects Are Being Abandoned
The Line is being heavily scaled back, Trojena’s Asian Winter Games hosting was cancelled, and The Cube — which could have contained the Empire State Building 20 times over — was scrapped entirely.
A “Yes Man” Culture Doomed Projects
Analysts argue that no one — from internal officials to foreign consultants chasing lucrative contracts — was willing to honestly assess whether these projects were financially or practically viable.
Foreign Investment Never Arrived at Scale
The plan depended on attracting massive external capital into hyper-expensive projects, but this influx never materialised — leaving the PIF to shoulder costs it could not fully sustain.
Political Repression Scared Investors Away
The Ritz-Carlton purge and the Khashoggi killing damaged Saudi Arabia’s reputation for predictability — a quality investors consider essential — undermining confidence in the business environment.
This Is Saudi Arabia’s Old Playbook
Analysts note this pattern predates MBS — King Abdullah’s “Economic Cities” programme in the 2000s followed the same arc: grand announcements, billions spent, and results far below expectations.
Social Change Is Real but Uneven
Reforms like women’s right to drive and a booming entertainment economy in Riyadh represent genuine social transformation — yet political dissent is still punished as severely as ever.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Vision 2030 Is Being Quietly Downgraded
Usher’s central argument is that Saudi Arabia’s grand transformation plan is undergoing a significant — if carefully managed — retreat. The funding shortfalls, structural overconfidence, political missteps, and regional instability that combined to stall the megaprojects reveal a deeper pattern: Saudi ambition consistently outpaces the economic and institutional realities required to deliver it.
Purpose
To Balance and Probe the Official Narrative
Usher writes to challenge the Saudi government’s framing of the Vision 2030 retrenchment as a mature “execution-led” pivot. By marshalling sceptical voices alongside sympathetic ones, and by situating current events within historical precedent, he invites readers to question whether this is genuinely new strategic discipline or the familiar pattern of overpromise followed by quiet retreat.
Structure
Contextual Framing → Project Failures → Root Causes → Pivot Strategy → Wider Consequences
Usher opens with a literary flourish about autocratic monuments before cataloguing specific failed projects under NEOM. He then pulls back to examine structural causes — the “yes man” culture, political violence, and failed precedents — before shifting to the official pivot narrative and expert reactions. The article closes by assessing Vision 2030’s three pillars, producing a layered structure that moves from the specific to the systemic.
Tone
Sceptical, Balanced & Dry
Usher writes with the measured scepticism of an experienced foreign correspondent — neither hostile to Saudi Arabia nor credulous about its official narrative. He permits Saudi voices to make their case but consistently contextualises them with critical perspectives. The opening metaphor of autocratic ruins sets a quietly ironic tone that runs through the piece: the gap between monument and reality as a recurring human story.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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The process of carefully adjusting a plan, approach, or set of priorities to better reflect current realities or constraints.
“But is it a recalibration or a retreat?”
Abandoned or discarded something that has become a burden or is no longer considered worthwhile or necessary.
“The Cube… has been jettisoned entirely. It was set to cost an estimated $50bn.”
Lasting or recurring repeatedly over a long period; used of problems or challenges that continually reappear without being fully resolved.
“…diversifying the Saudi economy away from oil, which has been a perennial imperative in the Kingdom for decades.”
Optimistic or positive, especially in a difficult situation; inclined to take a hopeful view of outcomes despite uncertainty.
“The Saudi businessman Thamer Shaker is more sanguine: ‘In many cases, disciplined prioritisation can actually increase investor confidence…'”
Become rigid, inflexible, or resistant to change; used metaphorically of institutions or systems that have hardened into inefficiency over time.
“…real ones, away from the calcified state sector…”
Lacking imagination or excitement; ordinary and unromantic, especially when compared to something that was once bold or visionary.
“…The Line… is being turned into something considerably more prosaic.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, the LIV Golf Tour delivered both a financial return and a significant reputational boost for Saudi Arabia.
2According to Abdullah al-Ouda, why did the Ritz-Carlton purge prove counterproductive to Vision 2030’s goals, even though it raised an estimated $100 billion?
3Which sentence best captures the structural reason why Saudi megaprojects repeatedly fail to live up to their ambitions, according to analyst Ellen R Wald?
4Evaluate whether each of the following statements is supported by the article.
The Asian Winter Games, which were originally to be hosted at Trojena in 2029, have been moved to the UAE.
Saudi Arabia secured the right to host the FIFA football World Cup in 2034.
The ancient site of AlUla, featuring Nabataean monuments, is cited in the article as a model for how Vision 2030 projects can be successfully delivered.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5Based on the article’s discussion of Vision 2030’s three pillars, what can be inferred about why MBS has been able to abandon expensive failed projects without facing significant domestic political consequences?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
NEOM is a $500 billion megadevelopment planned for the north-west of Saudi Arabia, the centrepiece of Vision 2030’s economic transformation ambitions. It was designed to house multiple futuristic sub-projects — including The Line (a 170km linear city), Trojena (a mountain ski resort), and The Cube (a massive mixed-use structure). It was intended to show the world that Saudi Arabia could build the cities of the future and attract global talent and investment.
Multiple factors deterred foreign investors. The projects were extraordinarily expensive and speculative, with no proven demand. The Ritz-Carlton purge and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi undermined confidence in Saudi Arabia’s rule of law and predictability — qualities investors prize above almost all else. Human rights concerns also made many Western institutions reluctant to participate publicly, even when they were privately interested in the opportunities on offer.
The three pillars were economic, social, and political transformation. Socially, genuine change has occurred — cities like Riyadh feel transformed, women gained the right to drive, and a domestic entertainment economy has flourished. Economically, progress has been partial; the megaprojects fell short and oil dependency persists. Politically, the picture is bleakest: the article concludes that dissent is still punished as severely as ever, meaning this pillar has effectively not advanced at all.
Readlite provides curated articles with comprehensive analysis including summaries, key points, vocabulary building, and practice questions across 9 different RC question types. Our Ultimate Reading Course offers 365 articles with 2,400+ questions to systematically improve your reading comprehension skills.
This article is rated Intermediate. Sebastian Usher writes accessibly for a broad BBC audience, but the piece covers a wide cast of analysts and experts, requires readers to track multiple interwoven arguments — economic, political, and social — and uses vocabulary such as retrenchment, recalibration, obfuscation, and sanguine that goes beyond everyday usage. It rewards close reading and is well-suited for students building reading comprehension skills for competitive exams like CAT or GMAT.
Sebastian Usher is the BBC’s Arab Affairs Editor, a specialist correspondent with deep expertise in the politics, culture, and economies of the Arab world. The BBC has maintained extensive reporting networks across the Middle East for decades and regularly publishes long-form analysis on Gulf states for its InDepth strand. This article draws on named analysts — including a Gulf political economist, a Saudi businessman, and a human rights expert — giving it a range of informed perspectives.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
