Saudi Arabia flies in bankers and holds Hong Kong roadshow to drum up cash for NEOM mega project ‘after scaling back 106-mile-long mega city The Line to just 1.6 miles’ [Video]

Bigwigs behind a Saudi megacity dogged by questions about its viability have headed to China in an attempt to bag sorely needed financial backing for the project thought overly ambitious at best – and at worst, doomed to failure. 

The roadshow for NEOM, brainchild of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, travelled from Beijing to Shanghai to Hong Kong, where for two days would-be business partners flocked to a chic museum to peruse eye-popping renderings in various stages of development.

But no major deals were announced, and top project officials did not address recent reports that NEOM’s ambitious construction and population targets are being rolled back.

The planned centrepiece of the project – two mirror-encased skyscrapers extending 106 miles across the Saudi desert known as ‘The Line’ – is supposed to have a population of one million by 2030, with a long-term capacity of nine million residents.

But Bloomberg reported earlier this …