Saudi Arabia’s Neom project devolved into a wrestling match between bosses, report says

The site of Neom in Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia. Neom is touted as one of the most ambitious projects in the world.

A dispute between a Neom executive and construction manager degenerated into a physical brawl, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

According to the publication, executives with chequered pasts have been appointed to senior roles in delivering plans to build the $1.5 trillion city in the arid northeast of Saudi Arabia.

Among them is Antoni Vives, who was reportedly convicted of fraud in Spain. He was appointed to develop The Line, a “vertical skyscraper” residential area that is meant to act as a centerpiece for the ambitious plans.

As pressure grew to deliver on the ambitious project, the report said tensions between executives mounted.

It claimed that in one incident Vives “argued with a construction manager and the two men physically wrestled.”

Vives then demanded his dismissal, said the publication, citing a former employee and a person familiar with the altercation.

The WSJ said that the criminal cases led to Vives resigning from Neom, but he quickly returned, having formed a bond with Crown Prince Mohammed, who told Neom executives to entice him back.

In 2021, Vives was reportedly given a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined on charges that he gave an associate a fake employment contract worth $165,000 over four years during his time at Barcelona City Council. Per the Journal, he pleaded guilty to the public-malfeasance charges.

The WSJ, citing the sources, said the executive who Vives fought ended up staying, backed by another executive who threatened to quit if the person was forced out.

Neom and the Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment by B-17. B-17 could not locate contact details for Vives or for representatives for Vives.

The WSJ said that neither Vives or a lawyer who’d represented him in his corruption trial responded to a request for comment.

The Neom project is the centrepiece of Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman’s bid to reform the Saudi economy, moving it away from its reliance on fossil fuels towards innovation and tourism.

But the project has been beset by problems, with the UN alleging that people who resisted being forcibly evicted from land to make way for the city had been sentenced for execution, and a former executive, Malcolm Aw, telling B-17 that he cancelled a desalination plant contract over human rights concerns.

Neom declined to comment on Aw’s claims to B-17 in May, while in July it rejected the UN’s claims regarding the men sentenced to be executed, saying they were members of terror groups.

Bloomberg reported in April that costs from the project are spiralling, and may have to be scaled back as they are too ambitious.

Neom and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund declined to comment on the report to Bloomberg.