Amid the construction of Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion giga-project known as The Line, reports of 21,000 foreign worker deaths since 2017 were unveiled. Officials have since dismissed the unsettling findings, calling them "misinformation." The allegations, highlighted in an October 2024 ITV documentary, claimed that workers on Saudi Vision 2030 projects, including the massive NEOM development, have endured poor and dangerous conditions.
Highlights
- Over 21,000 foreign workers reportedly died working on Vision 2030 projects since 2017.
- Saudi officials refute claims of worker deaths as 'misinformation'.
- Saudi Vision 2030 includes ambitious projects like NEOM and The Line.
According to ITV’s new documentary, Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia, more than 21,000 Indian, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese workers are alleged to have died in Saudi Arabia since 2017 working on the country’s Saudi Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 initiative encompasses a range of ambitious megaprojects, particularly along the Red Sea coast and within NEOM, in the Tabuk Province, where development is advancing on The Line.
The Line is a project stretching 170 kilometers and featuring a 500-meter-tall mirrored structure, that prioritizes renewable energy, nature preservation, and a car-free environment to support resident well-being.
Amid the construction of Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion giga-project known as The Line, reports of 21,000 foreign worker deaths since 2017 were unveiled
Image credits: Giles Pendleton FRICS
Initially planned to house 9 million people by 2030, The Line intends to provide access to daily essentials within a five-minute walk and high-speed rail transit.
However, Saudi Arabia scaled back plans for The Line in April, with reduced resident targets and construction expectations by 2030, primarily due to budget uncertainties and financial pressures.
NEOM, part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 for diversifying the Saudi economy, experienced significant setbacks, Bored Panda previously reported.
Image credits: NEOM/The Line
Despite the setbacks, construction continued on other NEOM components, including its Sindalah tourist destination and a green hydrogen project.
In the ITV documentary, workers testified about 16-hour work days and poor working conditions at The Line, which reportedly has a 140,000-strong migrant workforce, The B1M reported on November 5.
Nevertheless, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in Saudi Arabia strongly refuted the claims in an official statement.
Officials have since dismissed the unsettling findings, calling them "misinformation"
Image credits: NEOM/The Line
“In reference to the misinformation circulating across various media platforms—particularly claims suggesting an increase in worker fatalities linked to working conditions in Saudi Arabia, accompanied by unfounded statistics lacking credible sources—the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health in Saudi Arabia unequivocally refutes these assertions,” the OSH Council stated.
It went on to affirm that the work-related fatalities in Saudi Arabia were 1.12 per 100,000 workers, positioning the country among the “lowest globally in terms of work-related fatalities.”
The Council reiterated its stance on workers’ safety and well-being as being a priority. It explained: “The initiatives outlined in the Saudi Vision 2030 framework place human well-being at the forefront of all programs and development projects, notably through the National Strategic Program for Occupational Safety and Health.”
Image credits: Giles Pendleton FRICS
The Council concluded by highlighting Saudi labor laws, which require employers to provide comprehensive health insurance and regulate working hours in line with international standards, including restrictions on outdoor work during peak summer heat.
In a separate statement, NEOM said: “We are assessing the claims made in this program, and where required, will take appropriate action.
“We require all contractors and subcontractors to comply with NEOM’s Code of Conduct, based on the laws of Saudi Arabia and the policies of the International Labour Organisation, and they are subject to frequent inspections of their workers' living and working conditions.”
The allegations, highlighted in an October 2024 ITV documentary, claimed that workers on Saudi Vision 2030 projects endured poor and dangerous conditions
Image credits: NEOM/The Line
Jacobs, AECOM, Bechtel, Keller, AtkinsRéalis, Webuild, Systra, Egis, Turner & Townsend, Archirodon, and Deme were cited as the civil engineering companies working on the controversial project, New Civil Engineer (NCE) reported on November 6.
Very few updates have been shared by the managers of the NEOM project, compared to the scale of the planned works, according to NCE.
An Anti-Slavery International spokesperson told NCE: “With Neom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is claiming to be building urban centers grounded in sustainability, planetary regeneration, and nature preservation.
Image credits: NEOM/The Line
“This green vision is vital, however, we risk greenwashing as long as such projects are built through the egregious violation of migrant workers’ labor and human rights.
“Migrant workers are at higher risk of forced labor globally due to their immigration status, including due to barriers they face in accessing support and protections in foreign countries.”
The Saudi Vision 2030 projects include the massive NEOM development
Image credits: Giles Pendleton FRICS
Image credits: NEOM/The Line
“This includes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where migrant workers face widespread exploitation due to discrimination, limitations to freedom to change employers, and prohibition to exercise their universal right to freedom of association.
“The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health’s response to the findings of the investigation gives us no assurances that they are adequately responding to and remedying the harm suffered by workers, including by strengthening existing measures to improve decent working conditions and prevent deaths in the first place.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia should urgently implement legislation that protects migrant workers’ dignity, fundamental rights, and safety at work and ensure their effective implementation, including by inspecting the practices of all companies involved in The Line, and Neom as a whole.”
The Line is a project stretching 170 kilometers and featuring a 500-meter-tall mirrored structure
Image credits: NEOM/The Line
Image credits: NEOM
The ITV documentary follows a report by the BBC in May 2024 that Saudi Arabian authorities had permitted the use of "lethal force" to clear villages in the path of The Line.
Colonel Rabih Alenezi, an exiled former Saudi intelligence officer now living in the United Kingdom, told the BBC that he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the region.
Bored Panda has contacted the OSH Council, NEOM’s media representative and the civil engineering company mentioned for comment.
The report sparked outrage on social media
