A brand new WSJ report means that Saudi Arabia’s now eight-year-old Neom venture — a futuristic, carbon-neutral, 105-mile-long linear metropolis envisioned by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — has grow to be a monetary sinkhole.

Suffering from delays and price overruns, the nation, which has already shelled out $50 billion, might reportedly face one other 55 years of building, with an astonishing projected value of $8.8 trillion, in response to an inside audit introduced to Neom’s board final summer season. That’s greater than 25 occasions Saudi Arabia’s annual funds, notes the Journal.

The state of affairs is beginning to resemble Saudi Arabia’s personal Waterloo, with MBS misjudging the monumental challenges inherent in his technique, very like Napoleon did earlier than him. Among the many harsh realities threatening to derail the venture are inadequate labor, insufficient roads, and a scarcity of electrical energy.

There are some winners, nonetheless. Consulting large McKinsey & Firm is reportedly incomes greater than $130 million yearly for its companies, regardless of some controversy encompass its position, given the agency’s involvement in each the planning and validation of among the venture’s monetary projections, per the story. A McKinsey spokesman tells the WSJ the agency has “strict protocols to stop conflicts of curiosity in our engagements.”