Following the IMGW.News story from yesterday titled The Human Cost of Saudi’s Neom,’ today’s developments continue to highlight a market that is becoming increasingly sensitive to human rights when it comes to investment and real estate business decisions.
Malcolm Aw, CEO of Solar Water, withdrew from a $100 million contract with Neom, a Saudi megacity project, due to concerns over human rights abuses including the forceful eviction of the Huwaitat tribe and the destruction of their villages.
Aw disclosed his decision to Business Insider, citing the project’s ethical missteps. He had initially joined Neom, envisioned by Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman as an eco-friendly tourism and innovation hub, to install solar desalination plants.
The project, a part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to move away from oil dependency, involved bulldozing villages and using lethal force to clear land for development, with reports supported by satellite imagery confirming the destruction of infrastructure including schools and hospitals. Aw’s withdrawal was influenced by the ethical disconnect between the project’s ecological promises and the actual displacement of indigenous communities.
Neom has faced numerous setbacks, including scaling down its ambitions due to rising costs and public backlash against the treatment of critics.