Saudi Arabia has officially postponed the launch of its development plans for Riyadh by 2030 due to its "density and incompletion of important elements of the plan."

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the Royal Commission for Riyadh decided that work would be done to finalize the strategy in 2022, and then accredit it by the Council, announce it at the right time, and launch it as per relevant schedules.

Directions were given to dismiss the Director of Media in the Royal Commission and to question everyone involved in the announcement of the decision to launch the 2030 strategy, noting that the news was incorrect and untruthful. 

Promising, yet not delivering

The head of the Royal Commission for Riyadh told Reuters in January that the Kingdom is planning to invest $220 billion to transform Riyadh into a global city by 2030.

Over the next decade, the Kingdom has plans to double the economy and population of its capital, which currently houses 7 million people. 

In January, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) discussed Saudi Arabia's initiatives to transform the capital into one of the largest global economies and according to him, welcome more than 40 million visitors by 2030.  

MBS plan, however, has been subject to criticism recently and relevant projects have taken a blow. The Saudi budget deficit over the past years has led to the withdrawal of large funds from financial reserves, while many government projects have been canceled or postponed. Additionally, many private companies and contractors have been delayed payment.