Saudi Arabia's futuristic city project Neom has announced the departure of long-time CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr in an abrupt leadership reshuffle. The $500B project, a pillar of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from a reliance on oil,

Nasr estimated the total cost of the line alone would be considerably over $2 trillion, which is far more than the country's ability to spend on development. He took the reins in 2018 and pushed staff hard.

Following the departure of Nadhmi al-Nasr who had served as the project’s chief executive since 2018, Aiman al-Mudaifer has been appointed as interim CEO, says NEOM in a statement.