Key Takeaways
- NEOM’s Green Hydrogen plant is 80% complete at a total project cost of $8.4 billion — the most advanced piece of infrastructure in the entire NEOM ecosystem.
- The Line has been dramatically scaled back from the original 170km linear city to an initial phase of roughly 2km, with the broader vision deferred indefinitely.
- PIF construction contracts fell from $71 billion to $30 billion — a 60% reduction — as Saudi Arabia reallocates capital toward FIFA 2034 stadium infrastructure and Expo 2030 preparation.
- US construction firms (Bechtel, Fluor, AECOM) are losing Saudi contracts, while US tech companies — particularly Hexagon, which won a $2.7 billion data and AI infrastructure deal — are capturing the new priority spending.
- Sindalah island remains on track for a soft opening in late 2026, making it the only large NEOM component still proceeding on the original schedule.
For American investors and executives watching Saudi Arabia’s trillion-dollar transformation program, the NEOM story in March 2026 is a case study in what happens when a visionary megaproject meets fiscal reality, geopolitical disruption, and a shifted government priority stack. The headline numbers — a 60% cut in PIF construction contracts, The Line compressed from 170km to 2km — have been trickling out in project updates and contractor disclosures over the past six months. Taken together, they paint a picture of a program that is not failing but is being fundamentally reoriented.
That reorientation has direct commercial consequences for US firms. Bechtel, Fluor, and AECOM had collectively won or were in final-stage negotiations for an estimated $4–6 billion in NEOM construction packages. Several of those packages have been suspended, reduced, or rebid at significantly lower values. Meanwhile, a different category of US companies — data infrastructure, AI, smart city software — is winning contracts that did not exist in NEOM’s original construction-first blueprint.
What Is Actually Being Built Right Now?
Three components of NEOM are genuinely under active construction with credible near-term delivery timelines.
The NEOM Green Hydrogen Plant is the most advanced. The joint venture between NEOM, ACWA Power, and Air Products — branded as NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) — has reached 80% completion on a facility designed to produce 600 metric tons of green hydrogen per day using renewable electricity. The total project cost is $8.4 billion, making it the largest green hydrogen project by capacity under construction anywhere in the world. Commissioning is targeted for Q3 2026, with the first export shipments of green ammonia (the transport form for hydrogen) expected by year-end. Air Products has offtake agreements covering the first decade of production, primarily destined for European industrial customers.
Sindalah Island — a luxury yacht marina and resort community in the Red Sea — is proceeding on schedule for a soft opening in late 2026. Sindalah is smaller in scale than the NEOM megaprojects (roughly $4 billion total investment) and has a straightforward construction profile: marina infrastructure, resort hotels, and residential villas. The project has attracted confirmed interest from two major European marina operators and is the component most likely to generate actual visitor revenue within the NEOM portfolio before 2028.
NEOM Bay Airport is operational in a limited capacity, handling project workforce logistics and charter flights. A commercial opening tied to Sindalah’s soft launch is planned. Infrastructure for the airport’s expansion to full commercial capacity has been partially deferred.
The Line: What Actually Happened to the 170km City?
The Line was announced in 2021 as a 170-kilometer linear city running through the Tabuk Province desert, housing up to 9 million residents in two parallel mirrored towers stretching 500 meters high. The concept captured global attention and became synonymous with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions.
In March 2026, The Line’s actual construction status is this: an initial phase of approximately 2 kilometers is under construction near Sharma, intended to serve as a proof-of-concept segment housing an estimated 300,000 residents at full build-out. The remaining 168 kilometers — along with the majority of the originally envisioned infrastructure — has no active construction timeline. Saudi officials have avoided formal statements of cancellation, instead using language like “phased delivery” and “prioritized sequencing.” Industry sources and contractor filings tell a different story.
The financial logic is straightforward. The original 170km Line was estimated to cost between $500 billion and $1 trillion depending on specifications. At current PIF capital availability — constrained by oil price volatility, the regional conflict’s impact on Gulf liquidity, and competing demands from FIFA 2034 and Expo 2030 — that level of spending is not feasible within any credible 10-year window. The 2km initial phase, which will likely cost $15–25 billion, is achievable and serves the dual purpose of demonstrating technological capability while preserving the political narrative of progress.
For the broader Vision 2030 context, see our analysis of how the Iran war is affecting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 delivery.
What Happened to Oxagon and Trojena?
Oxagon — the floating industrial city designed to anchor NEOM’s manufacturing and logistics economy — has seen its timeline pushed to the early 2030s with no confirmed start date for the marine platform construction. The industrial tenants originally recruited for Oxagon’s first phase have either signed softer memoranda of understanding or quietly exited the project. NEOM officials maintain that Oxagon remains in the development pipeline, but no procurement activity for the floating platform structure was recorded in Saudi contracting databases through Q1 2026.
Trojena — the mountain resort development intended to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games — is in a more ambiguous position. Saudi Arabia still officially holds the Asian Winter Games hosting rights for 2029, but the required ski infrastructure for Trojena is materially behind schedule. Industry observers tracking Saudi construction awards estimate that Trojena would need to see $3–4 billion in construction awards within the next six months to have any realistic chance of hosting the 2029 games. That pace of award activity has not occurred.
Where Is the Money Actually Going Instead?
The $41 billion reduction in PIF construction commitments (from $71 billion to $30 billion) has not disappeared from the Saudi capital expenditure ledger — it has been reallocated. The primary destinations are three:
FIFA 2034 stadium and transportation infrastructure is now the highest-priority construction program in Saudi Arabia. An estimated 16 new or significantly upgraded stadium facilities are required across Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar, with supporting metro extensions, airport capacity upgrades, and hospitality infrastructure. The FIFA delivery timeline (2034 is eight years away, but 2030 represents the midpoint deadline for infrastructure completion) is driving urgent procurement activity that NEOM’s open-ended timeline cannot compete with politically.
Expo 2030 Riyadh site development is the second priority. The 600-hectare Expo site requires core pavilion infrastructure, utility connections, and access roads that are on a fixed delivery deadline.
Data centers and AI infrastructure are the third destination, and this is where US technology companies are winning. Hexagon — a Swedish-American geospatial and industrial data company — secured a $2.7 billion contract to build smart city data infrastructure across NEOM’s active construction zones. Microsoft, Google Cloud, and Oracle have all signed or are in advanced negotiations for data center agreements with PIF-adjacent entities. This is a materially different revenue stream than construction — shorter cycle, higher margin, and less exposed to the project delays affecting physical infrastructure.
What This Means for US Investors
The NEOM story in 2026 is a sector rotation from construction to technology. US engineering and construction firms (Bechtel, Fluor, AECOM) face meaningful contract risk as Saudi Arabia’s capital reallocation to FIFA and Expo accelerates. None of these firms derives the majority of their revenue from Saudi Arabia, but the loss of anticipated NEOM contract volume is a negative revision to 2026–2027 backlog growth projections. By contrast, US technology companies with Saudi data infrastructure exposure — and adjacents like Hexagon — are in an advantaged position. The Green Hydrogen plant’s 80% completion is also a significant signal for investors tracking the energy transition: it validates that industrial-scale green hydrogen is buildable at cost, though Air Products’ offtake pricing ($3.50–4.00/kg delivered green ammonia equivalent) will determine whether the business model works without ongoing subsidy. For context on how PIF’s capital allocation decisions interact with broader Saudi economic performance, see our Saudi Arabia economy and TASI analysis for March 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Line in NEOM actually being built in 2026?
A scaled-back initial phase of approximately 2 kilometers is under construction near Sharma. The original 170km vision has no active construction timeline and no confirmed funding. Saudi officials describe it as “phased delivery” — industry observers and contractor records indicate the broader project is indefinitely deferred. The 2km phase is expected to cost $15–25 billion versus the original $500B–$1T estimate for the full vision.
What is the most advanced part of NEOM in 2026?
The NEOM Green Hydrogen Plant — a joint venture between NEOM, ACWA Power, and Air Products — is 80% complete and the most physically advanced infrastructure in the NEOM ecosystem. Designed to produce 600 metric tons of green hydrogen daily, the $8.4 billion facility is targeting commissioning in Q3 2026, with the first green ammonia exports expected by year-end to European industrial customers.
Why did PIF cut NEOM construction contracts by 60%?
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund reduced its active construction commitments from $71 billion to approximately $30 billion as it reallocated capital to higher-urgency fixed-deadline projects — primarily FIFA 2034 stadium infrastructure and Expo 2030 Riyadh site development. NEOM’s open-ended timeline lost priority relative to commitments with international deadline obligations. Regional conflict-related fiscal pressure also constrained available capital.
What happened to Oxagon and Trojena?
Oxagon, the planned floating industrial city, has been pushed to the early 2030s with no confirmed construction start. Trojena, the mountain resort for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, is materially behind schedule — it would need $3–4 billion in construction awards within six months to have a realistic shot at 2029 readiness, and that pace has not occurred. Saudi Arabia officially retains both projects in the pipeline but has issued no new procurement for either in Q1 2026.
Which US companies are winning NEOM contracts in 2026?
US technology and data infrastructure companies are the winners. Hexagon secured a $2.7 billion smart city data infrastructure contract across NEOM’s active zones. Microsoft, Google Cloud, and Oracle are in advanced negotiations for data center agreements with PIF-adjacent entities. Traditional US engineering firms — Bechtel, Fluor, AECOM — are losing ground as physical construction spending shrinks and gets redirected to FIFA and Expo priorities.
Conclusion: NEOM Is Being Rebuilt Around What Is Achievable
The NEOM of March 2026 is not the NEOM of the 2021 announcement videos. It is smaller, more selective, and more honestly calibrated to what Saudi Arabia can actually finance and deliver within credible timeframes. The Green Hydrogen plant and Sindalah are real. The 2km Line phase is real, if a fraction of the vision. The rest — Oxagon, Trojena, the full 170km linear city — is in indefinite suspension, wrapped in diplomatic language about phased delivery.
That recalibration is not a failure of Saudi ambition. It is an adjustment to the collision of an audacious 10-year plan with an $80-per-barrel oil ceiling, a regional war, and the competing demands of FIFA 2034 and Expo 2030. The question going forward is whether the technology-first pivot — data centers, AI infrastructure, green hydrogen — generates the economic returns that the construction-first model was supposed to produce, and whether the global audience that once marveled at The Line’s scale is satisfied by what actually gets built in its place.
