Neom exit hasn’t derailed Webuild Saudi plans, CEO says

• Contracts cancelled at giga-project
• Working on Riyadh Metro
• Keen on ‘everything’ water-related

A major Neom contractor has stopped work on the Saudi giga-project but still intends to expand in the kingdom, as Riyadh redirects spending towards transport, infrastructure and plans with clearer commercial returns.

Despite cancellations across giga-project developments, companies continue to chase new construction contracts, which more than doubled in value in the first five months of 2026 compared to the start of 2025.

Italian contractor Webuild had been undertaking major projects at Neom, including what was to be the $5 billion construction of three dams and a lake at the Trojena ski resort, and a $2 billion contract for a high-speed rail link between the Oxagon industrial zone and The Line.

Webuild chief executive Pietro Salini told AGBI that despite no longer working on Neom, the company still wants to expand in Saudi Arabia.

“The ambition for Saudi Arabia is to grow,” Salini said. “We would like to be more effective in transforming Vision 2030 into reality.”

Webuild, which has had a presence in the country since 1966, is working on Line 2 of the Riyadh Metro and Diriyah Square in the Diriyah giga-project west of the capital.

It is bidding on further contracts, Salini said, including the Line 7 metro expansion, which will extend to Diriyah.

The company is looking to bid on other transportation projects, he added, as well as “everything that relates to water”, including desalination plants, aqueducts and water treatment plants.

Webuild’s cancellations at Neom earlier this year were part of a spate of terminated contracts worth billions of dollars.

Neom’s restructuring could cost as much as $16 billion to cover cancelled contracts, Semafor reported. Neom did not immediately respond to an AGBI request for comment on the Semafor story.

Further reading:

• New priorities expected under refocused Saudi Vision 2030
• As Neom slows, new avenues emerge for Saudi logistics
• Neom cancels rail link between Oxagon and The Line

While the giga-project remains a stated priority for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the cancellation of many larger developments is part of the PIF’s wider shift towards trimming capital expenditure, attracting foreign money and focusing on investments with a clear path to profitability.

Webuild has said it has not lost money through work carried out at Neom. The company has been paid for all completed activity and reimbursed for the cost of halting operations, it said.

Salini said any cancellations at Neom must not harm contractors.

“This decision must not be paid [for] by those who are working there,” he said. “It is important that these situations are dealt with together with the industry.”