Saudi Arabia has suspended large-scale work on the construction of The Line—a key component of the futuristic city of NEOM—until at least 2030.
The Line was conceived as one of the most ambitious urban development projects in the world: a linear city 170 km long and up to 500 m high, free of cars and traditional streets, designed to accommodate millions of residents. The project was intended to become a symbol of the Saudi Vision 2030 program and Saudi Arabia’s economic transition from oil dependence to technology, tourism, logistics, and innovative infrastructure.
According to Semafor, NEOM has postponed further major work on The Line until after 2030. Investments in a number of other project areas have also been postponed or frozen, including some tourist facilities on the Red Sea coast and the Trojena mountain resort, which was previously planned as a venue for the 2029 Winter Asian Games.
The reasons for the revision include rising costs, the need to reallocate resources, and a more pragmatic approach to implementing Saudi Vision 2030 projects. Instead of the most complex and expensive futuristic facilities, the priority may shift toward ports, logistics, industrial infrastructure, data centers, and facilities that yield economic benefits more quickly.
The Line and the entire NEOM project have been controversial from the start due to their scale, cost, technical complexity, and environmental risks. It was initially stated that the city would be able to accommodate up to 9 million residents, but the plans were later revised several times. In 2024, The Guardian reported that by 2030, only a small section is actually planned to be built instead of the originally announced 170 km.
The suspension of The Line is part of a broader review of Saudi megaprojects. Reuters previously reported on the suspension of work on Mukaab—a giant cubic skyscraper in Riyadh costing about $50 billion, which is also part of the Vision 2030 portfolio.
For the real estate and construction market, the decision regarding The Line is an important signal: even the largest state-backed projects in the Gulf countries are facing funding constraints, a shortage of investors, rising construction costs, and the need to demonstrate economic viability.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia is not abandoning NEOM entirely. The project will likely develop in a more realistic format, with a focus on individual functional zones, industry, logistics, maritime infrastructure, digital services, and energy projects.
NEOM is a megaproject in northwestern Saudi Arabia, announced in 2017.
It includes The Line, the Oxagon industrial cluster, the Trojena mountain resort, the Sindalah island tourism project, and other zones. The project is funded with the participation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, and is part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy.
According to Serbian Economist, Jared Kushner’s company may demand up to EUR50 million in compensation from Serbia for failing to fulfill the terms of the contract regarding the construction of a hotel and residential complex on the site of the former General Staff building in central Belgrade, said Marinka Tepić, vice-chair of the opposition Freedom and Justice Party.
According to her, the contract between the Serbian government and Kushner’s company stipulated obligations on Serbia’s part regarding the preparation of the site for the project, but these were not fulfilled. Tepić claims that because of this, Kushner’s company may seek compensation of EUR50 million.
So far, this is merely a statement by an opposition politician, not a publicly confirmed lawsuit or an official claim by Kushner’s company.
The project involved the site of the former General Staff complex in Belgrade, which was damaged during the NATO bombings in 1999. The complex had long held cultural heritage status, but in 2024, the Serbian government removed its protected status, paving the way for the development project.
According to media reports, the Serbian side agreed to transfer the site to a company linked to Kushner under a long-term 99-year lease. The project called for the construction of a hotel, apartments, and office and commercial spaces in one of Belgrade’s most prominent locations.
The initiative sparked strong opposition from Serbian opposition groups, architects, and activists. For many Belgrade residents, the General Staff building remains not just a ruined structure in the city center, but a symbol of the 1999 NATO bombings and a reminder of Serbia’s modern history. Opponents of the project demanded that the complex retain its memorial and cultural status rather than be turned into commercial real estate.
The situation became more complicated following an investigation into the documents on the basis of which the complex was stripped of its cultural monument status. Serbian prosecutors had previously charged current and former officials in a case involving the possible forgery of documents used to remove the General Staff building’s protected status. Following this, Western media reported that Kushner had abandoned the project amid protests and legal issues surrounding the site.
Jared Kushner is an American entrepreneur, founder of the investment firm Affinity Partners, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, and former senior advisor to the White House during Trump’s first presidential term.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić sharply criticized the project’s collapse and stated that the country had lost a major investment.
According to him, the project involved at least EUR750 million in investments and thousands of jobs. Vučić promised to personally file criminal complaints against those who, in his words, participated in a “campaign” to destroy the project.
For Serbia, a potential claim for compensation marks a new phase in a politically sensitive case. On the one hand, the authorities presented the project as a major investment that could revitalize one of the most prominent locations in central Belgrade. On the other hand, opponents of the project believe that the state should not have transferred a symbolically important site to a private foreign investor for a hotel and commercial development.
The key question now is whether Kushner’s company will file a formal claim against Serbia and on what grounds. No official announcement from Kushner’s company regarding the filing of a lawsuit or a claim for EUR50 million has been published in open sources at this time.
NAEK ‘Energoatom’ has completed the construction of a key safety facility at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, and it is currently undergoing the certification process, the company announced on Monday.
“We are taking proactive measures to create a reliable shield for our critical infrastructure. Each such facility provides an additional layer of security for Ukraine’s entire power grid,” said Energoatom CEO Pavlo Kovtoniuk.
The construction was carried out as part of a comprehensive program to strengthen the security of Ukrainian power units under martial law. The goal is to protect critical nuclear power infrastructure from potential external threats.
A production meeting was also held at the Rivne NPP site, attended by the plant’s management, relevant departments, and contractors. Participants discussed the progress of construction on other protective structures and the implementation of new engineering solutions to enhance the resilience of the infrastructure.
Prices for construction and installation work (CIW) in Ukraine rose by 16.2% in March 2026 compared to March 2025, according to the State Statistics Service (SSS).
According to the statistics agency, prices rose in all segments of construction from March 2026 to March 2025: in residential construction by 15.3% (up 9.2% compared to the previous month), in non-residential construction by 17.3% (9.7%), and in civil engineering by 16.1% (9.3%).
In January–March of this year compared to the same period last year, construction material and equipment prices rose by 9.9%, specifically in the residential sector by 9.2%, in the non-residential sector by 10.4%, and in civil engineering by 9.7%.
Compared to the previous quarter, in January–March 2026, construction material prices rose by 6.1%, specifically in residential construction by 5.3%, in non-residential construction by 6.6%, and in civil engineering by 6.1%.
The State Statistics Service also compared current price indicators with the 2021 annual average. Thus, in the first quarter of 2026, prices in the residential sector rose by 83.6%, in the non-residential sector by 84.1%, and in civil engineering by 78.6%.
As reported, in 2025, construction material prices rose by 5.8% compared to the previous year, in 2024 by 7.9%, and in 2023 by 15.8%.
The business confidence index for Ukraine’s construction market rose by 1.9 percentage points (pp) in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter, reaching “minus” 25.7%, according to the State Statistics Service (SSS).
According to data from a survey of construction companies conducted by the agency, the assessment of the current volume of orders improved by 1.7 pp to “minus” 41.5%. Specifically, 54% of the surveyed companies assessed their current order volume as normal for the season, while 45% deemed it insufficient.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents expect to raise prices for their services by the end of the second quarter of this year. Only 2% of respondents forecast a decrease in the cost of construction work, while 30% do not expect any changes in pricing policy.
According to State Statistics Service data, the companies surveyed have an average of six months’ worth of orders, which corresponds to the pre-war level at the beginning of 2022.
The agency notes that in the second quarter of 2026, construction will be negatively impacted by labor shortages (56.1%), financial constraints (48.2%), weather conditions (23%), insufficient demand (20.8%), and other factors (42.7%).
About 23% of the surveyed companies expect a reduction in the number of employees in April–June, while 57% believe that their numbers will remain unchanged, and 19% forecast an expansion of their workforce.
According to the State Statistics Service, 25% of respondents noted an increase in the volume of construction work completed in the past quarter, while 41% reported a decrease in volumes.
The survey showed that 98% of Ukrainian construction companies find it quite difficult to predict future business developments.
The statistical data is presented excluding territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and parts of territories where hostilities are (were) taking place.
Ora Developers, an Egyptian real estate company linked to billionaire Naguib Sawiris, is expanding its Bayn project—a new mixed-use city in the Gantut area between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. According to The Economic Times, the company has increased its investment in the UAE from $15 billion to $30 billion.
According to the publication, the Bayn project is being developed as a full-fledged “city of the future.” Following the acquisition of an additional 4.8 million square meters of land, Ora Developers’ total land bank in the UAE has grown to 9.6 million square meters. The project itself is designed to accommodate approximately 16,000 residential units.
Bayn will include business parks, schools, hospitals, shopping centers, offices, and hotels—in other words, it is not just a residential complex but the creation of a self-contained urban environment. The key idea behind the project is to create a community whose residents will be able to live between the two largest business centers of the Emirates and work in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The project’s expansion comes amid sustained interest in the UAE real estate market, despite geopolitical tensions in the region. Through private capital, Egypt is effectively strengthening its presence in one of the Middle East’s largest real estate markets. The Bayn project demonstrates that the focus is not on isolated development, but on the large-scale creation of a new urban cluster between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
