NEOM After The Line: Which Projects Are Still Being Built

The Line was the centrepiece of NEOM but it was not the only project. NEOM has four other active developments, and their status varies considerably now that the flagship city has been cancelled. Some are progressing. Others are quietly stalled.

Sindalah: The Most Advanced Remaining Project

Sindalah is a luxury island development in the Red Sea, designed as a superyacht and marine tourism destination. It has the most advanced construction progress of any remaining NEOM project and a clear commercial rationale independent of The Line.

Phase one targets a 2026 opening for marina facilities and initial hospitality infrastructure. Saudi Arabia has a specific incentive to complete this phase: Sindalah is tied to the 2027 NEOM Yacht Club Race, a high-profile international sailing event. That external commitment creates a deadline with reputational consequences if missed, which The Line never had.

Sindalah also has a more manageable engineering scope. A luxury island marina is a known construction category. The challenges are financial and logistical, not structural impossibilities. International luxury hospitality brands are reportedly in discussions about properties on the island, which would provide external validation and revenue.

Trojena: The 2029 Deadline

Trojena is a mountain resort in the Asir highlands of northwestern Saudi Arabia, planned to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. This project carries the hardest external commitment in the remaining NEOM portfolio.

Saudi Arabia lobbied for and won the Asian Winter Games bid specifically to anchor Trojena with an international sports event. The ski slopes are planned for altitudes above 2,600 metres where temperatures can drop below freezing in winter. The Olympic Council of Asia awarded the games to Trojena in 2022.

Construction is ongoing but behind schedule by most independent assessments. The 2029 deadline is not negotiable in the same way The Line timeline was. If Trojena does not deliver functional ski infrastructure by 2029, Saudi Arabia loses the games and takes a significant credibility hit at an international level.

Leyja and Epicon: The Quieter Projects

Leyja is a boutique resort planned for a mountain valley in the Asir region. It targets ultra-high-end tourism with a small number of exclusive properties set in dramatic natural terrain. Leyja has the least public construction progress of the four remaining projects and no hard external deadline. It serves the Vision 2030 tourism diversification goal but is the most exposed to further delays if the overall NEOM budget contracts.

Epicon is a set of two towers on the Sindalah coastal area, planned as luxury residential and hotel properties. Construction is at early stages. It benefits from proximity to Sindalah but depends on the broader Sindalah project succeeding first.

What Changed After The Line Suspension

The Public Investment Fund has not publicly revised its financial commitment to the remaining NEOM projects. Official statements since September 2025 have described The Line as paused for strategic review rather than permanently cancelled, maintaining the framing that NEOM as a programme continues.

In practice, the budget available for NEOM has contracted. Oil revenues that fund the PIF came under pressure in 2024 and 2025. The Line consumed $50 billion before suspension. The remaining four projects now compete for a reduced pool, with Sindalah and Trojena prioritised by their external commitments.

The AI Data Centre Play

The most concrete post-Line development is the $5 billion DataVolt agreement for an AI factory campus in the Oxagon district. As covered in the NEOM AI data centre pivot post, Oxagon has Red Sea coastal access for seawater cooling, existing grid infrastructure, and proximity to Saudi renewable energy. As an AI data centre site it has genuine merit independent of the failed city.

Saudi Arabia's Humain, a new state AI company with $40 billion in committed investment, provides the broader context for this play. The NEOM site fits into a national AI infrastructure programme that existed before The Line was cancelled and continues regardless of it.

Key Takeaways

• 2026 — Sindalah marina phase one target, tied to the 2027 NEOM Yacht Club Race external commitment
• 2029 — Trojena Asian Winter Games deadline, the hardest external forcing function in the remaining NEOM portfolio
• $40 billion — Saudi Humain AI investment that now contextualises the Oxagon data centre pivot
• $50 billion — spent on The Line before suspension, reducing the budget available for remaining projects
• For developers: The Oxagon AI factory is the most credible remaining NEOM investment from an infrastructure standpoint; Sindalah and Trojena are tourism plays with political anchors that create real delivery pressure
• What to watch: Whether Trojena delivers functional ski infrastructure by 2029 and whether the 2029 Asian Winter Games proceeds as planned or is quietly relocated