Saudi Arabia presses royal families to bankroll faltering megaprojects: Report

The move echoes past tactics by the crown prince, including the past kidnapping and coercion of relatives to secure funding and consolidate power  

News Desk - The Cradle 

Saudi Arabia has begun pressing the kingdom’s wealthiest families to inject more capital into domestic ventures as flagship Vision 2030 megaprojects are scaled back or shelved, Bloomberg reported on 27 January.

The report said the Public Investment Fund (PIF), alongside the Ministry of Investment and other state bodies, convened a closed-door meeting on the Red Sea coast with some of the country’s richest families. Those present were urged to “collaborate” on more projects and to partner with foreign investors still considering opportunities in the kingdom.

This renewed push comes as Riyadh quietly retreats from some of its most heavily promoted developments, with construction at the Mukaab suspended earlier this week and other megaprojects scaled back, once touted as cornerstones of Vision 2030.

The combined pullback reflects a broader reassessment of the scale and financing of the Vision 2030 agenda, with investment capital being redirected toward sectors offering quicker returns, including logistics, mining, and AI.

Amid the shift, oil still accounts for roughly 61 percent of Saudi state revenue, according to the 2025 budget, while crude prices hover near $60 per barrel – well below the level economists say is needed to balance spending.

Foreign investors have largely stayed away from costly prestige projects, leaving the PIF to rely on borrowing and domestic funding. 

Bloomberg noted that the PIF declined to comment on the meetings, while the Ministry of Investment did not respond to requests for clarification.

The move echoes events in 2017, when Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) detained dozens of business figures and royal family members at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, requiring them to hand over billions of dollars in assets during what was described as an “anti-corruption” campaign.

Analysts widely viewed the purge as a calculated move by MbS to tighten control over the security services while sidelining powerful figures associated with competing branches of the royal family, thereby consolidating his authority.