Saudi Arabia has scaled back lofty ambitions for its NEOM gigaproject to prioritize completing elements essential to hosting global sporting events over the next decade as rising costs weigh, three sources told Reuters a day after the sudden departure of the project's longtime CEO.

The Line is part of Neom, the kingdom's ambitious megacity project. Linear living is an "ambitious but hardly revolutionary" concept, one expert says.

RIYADH/DUBAI - Saudi Arabia has scaled back lofty ambitions for its NEOM gigaproject to prioritize completing elements essential to hosting global sporting events over the next decade as rising costs weigh,

Longtime CEO Nadhmi al-Nasr left Neom, Saudi Arabia’s marquee development, which has been plagued by delays, cost overruns and staff turnover.

Nasr, the long-time chief executive of the $500 billion NEOM mega-project at the heart of Saudi Arabia's drive to diversify away from oil, has departed, NEOM said on Tuesday without giving a reason. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,

Saudi Arabia replaced the executive that was overseeing its plan to build the $1.5 trillion futuristic development known as Neom, in the latest sign that the project is struggling to deliver on its ambitions.