Neom replaced by Almaty: Why 2029 Asian Winter Games just abandoned Saudi Arabia’s $500B megacity

For Kazakhstan, event marks return to global stage

The ceremony in Milan featured key figures from the international sporting community. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the OCA, described the relocation as a strategic alignment with the council’s long-term vision. “The Asian Winter Games serve as an important platform for strengthening cooperation and solidarity among member committees,” Sheikh Joaan stated.

“We have no doubt we will build on Kazakhstan’s legacy and deliver an unforgettable Games in 2029.”

For Kazakhstan, the event marks a return to the global stage as a reliable “safe harbour” for international sport. Gennady Golovkin, the legendary boxer and current President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, emphasised the strategic advantage of his country’s existing assets.

“For us, this challenge is an opportunity to demonstrate in practice that our sports and urban infrastructure are world-class. Organising complex international competitions is of strategic importance for the country, confirming the international community’s confidence in Kazakhstan’s ability to host high-level tournaments without the need for large-scale additional construction,” he said.

From desert snow to steppe heritage

The decision to move the 2029 Asian Winter Games (AWG) was necessitated by the realisation that Trojena, a project requiring a vertical ski village and a massive man-made lake to be carved into the Sarawat Mountains, would not meet the strict operational thresholds by the 2029 deadline.

Awarded to Saudi Arabia in 2022, the bid was a historic first for the Middle East, proposing outdoor skiing in an arid region powered by 100% renewable energy. However, by January 2026, the technical complexity of the “desalination-to-snow” pipeline, estimated to require $3.7\pm1.2$ GWh of energy annually, surpassed the Kingdom’s immediate delivery capacity.

Comparative Readiness: A Tale of Two Hosts

By opting for Almaty, the OCA has prioritised “legacy infrastructure” over speculative engineering. The move leverages world-class venues like the Shymbulak Alpine Resort and the Medeu Alpine Ice Arena, which require minimal additional investment compared to the multibillion-dollar “from-scratch” construction required in the Saudi desert.

What experts said

According to industry experts, the relocation was a necessary “course correction” for the Kingdom. Farah Al-Hashimi, an expert in Middle Eastern urban development, notes that the scaling back of projects such as The Line and the postponement of the Winter Games reflect a new era of adaptive strategy.

“Scaling back doesn’t mean failure, rather, it shows adaptive strategy in the face of reality,” said Al-Hashimi.

“Building a 170km linear entity or a desert ski resort multiplies every engineering challenge exponentially. This recalibration increases the chances of meaningful success for the segments that do get built, like the AI data centres and green hydrogen plants,” he added.

From an environmental standpoint, the scepticism has been even more pronounced. Recent climate modelling published in Environmental Research Communications (2025) suggests that maintaining Trojena’s slopes will be an uphill battle against nature.

Donald Wuebbles, a climate scientist involved in the study, highlighted the inherent risks. “Climate change strongly compromises the utility of the planned infrastructure. Our simulations show that in low-elevation areas, the median number of skiable days could drop to zero by the 2050s, regardless of artificial snow production capacity,” the scientist said.

What is NEOM?

While the relocation is a setback for Saudi Arabia’s sporting calendar, it reflects a broader “pivot to industry” within the NEOM megaproject. Managed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and led by CEO Aiman Al-Mudaifer, the project is moving away from purely residential fantasies toward tangible economic hubs.

A joint statement from the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) and the OCA framed the delay not as a cancellation, but as a strategic deferment. “The SOPC and the OCA have agreed on an updated framework for future hosting… confirming the postponement of the 2029 edition to a later date. This decision aims to build a base of athletes and allow additional time to prepare for broader participation,” it said.

Geopolitical risks and human rights scrutiny

The recalibration of NEOM is also influenced by external pressures. Human rights organisations such as ALQST and UN experts have consistently raised alarms regarding the treatment of the Howeitat (Huwaitat) tribe.

Approximately 20,000 tribe members have allegedly been forcibly displaced from their ancestral lands. Resistance to these evictions has led to severe legal repression, with several individuals sentenced to prison terms of up to 50 years. Jeed Basyouni, head of Middle East work at the advocacy group Reprieve, provided a stark contrast to the project’s marketing. “The glossy brochures don’t show that this is a city being built on forcible evictions, state violence, and death sentences. There is a massive gulf between the ‘New Future’ being sold to investors and the reality for those living on that land for centuries.”

For the international sports community, the choice of Almaty over high-risk greenfield projects suggests that for future continental events, “legacy infrastructure” and “operational readiness” will be the primary metrics for selection. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, appears to be focusing its resources on sectors where it can achieve near-term economic benefits—such as AI infrastructure and luxury tourism—while the futuristic slopes of Trojena remain a project for a more distant, and perhaps more technologically advanced, future.