{"id":2107566,"date":"2026-08-23T09:29:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2107566"},"modified":"2026-08-23T09:29:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:29:06","slug":"video-wsj-investigates-why-saudi-arabias-trojena-ski-dream-collapsed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2107566","title":{"rendered":"[VIDEO] WSJ Investigates Why Saudi Arabia\u2019s Trojena Ski Dream Collapsed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For years, Saudi Arabia\u2019s planned Trojena ski resort occupied a strange place in the ski world. <\/strong>It was simultaneously one of the most ambitious ski projects ever conceived and one of the most improbable: a resort being carved into the mountains of an arid country where natural snow is so scarce that researchers from Copernicus<\/a> estimate the area receives snow cover for less than two days per year on average. The same researchers concluded that at most 60 days of skiing would be possible at Trojena and even less with increasing temperatures prevalent across the globe. But it wasn\u2019t the lack of snow that broke the proverbial camel\u2019s back \u2014 it was finance.<\/p>\n

It snows on average 2 days a year in the Tabuk region. | Image: Expats Buzz Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A new investigation from The Wall Street Journal<\/em> (WSJ) suggests that Trojena was not simply an improbable dream.<\/strong> It became part of a much larger problem inside Saudi Arabia\u2019s enormous NEOM megaproject, where escalating costs, unrealistic projections and an unwillingness to confront failure helped turn one of the world\u2019s most ambitious development schemes into what WSJ<\/em>\u00a0describes as a project that has effectively collapsed.<\/p>\n

The story is laid out in the WSJ<\/em> video \u201cWhy the World\u2019s Largest Megaproject Collapsed,\u201d produced by reporter Eliot Brown.<\/strong> The video draws on internal documents, satellite imagery and interviews with people involved with NEOM.<\/p>\n

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    NEOM was announced in 2017 as the centerpiece of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman\u2019s Vision 2030 program, which aims to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil.\u00a0<\/strong>It was initially presented as a roughly $500 billion futuristic development covering more than 26,000 square kilometers in northwestern Saudi Arabia. But NEOM was not a single city or construction project. It was an umbrella development containing several extraordinary projects, including The Line, the proposed linear city of mirror-clad skyscrapers; Oxagon, a futuristic industrial and maritime development; Sindalah, a luxury island destination; and Trojena, the mountain tourism and ski destination.<\/p>\n

    The ideas associated with NEOM became increasingly fantastical.<\/strong> Earlier plans reportedly included flying taxis, robot servants, a giant artificial moon and a Jurassic Park-style attraction featuring robotic dinosaurs. Those concepts helped make NEOM one of the most recognizable megaprojects on Earth; but also increasingly difficult to separate from science fiction.<\/p>\n

    Construction is still underway at Trojena after the cancellation of some major contracts. | Image: Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Trojena was the ski-world component of that vision. <\/strong>The plan called for roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) of ski terrain, an artificial lake and a futuristic mountain village, with skiing expected to take place from December through March. The vision sold by Saudi Arabia was so compelling that the Olympic Council of Asia awarded Trojena the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Emboldened by the recognition, construction of Trojena began in 2023.<\/p>\n

    Many questioned the feasibility of the project, but also the necessity of stamping a resort out of the dry Arabian ground when other options were readily available in Asia. <\/strong>Trojena sits in the Sarawat Mountains in Tabuk Province, at elevations reaching roughly 2,600 meters (8,500 feet). Temperatures can fall below freezing during winter, but precipitation is rare. It was an extraordinary \u2013 if not preposterous \u2014 proposition: build a ski resort in a place where nature provides almost none of the snow required to operate one.<\/p>\n