Exclusive-Saudi Arabia prioritizes sports for NEOM plans as costs balloon, sources say


FILE PHOTO: The future Site of the city Neom, a planned cross-border city, stands empty before development begins in the Tabuk Province of northwestern Saudi Arabia, December 18, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) -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.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into development projects through the kingdom's PIF sovereign wealth fund.

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