British executive Michael Dyke has left his position as chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s New Murabba development, as the project continues to stumble amid delays, rising costs and growing difficulties in execution.

Dyke was appointed in January 2024 to help bring greater management control to New Murabba, one of the flagship projects of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 programme. He previously held senior positions at British construction group Balfour Beatty.

New Murabba was announced in 2023 as a huge new urban district in Riyadh, centred on the Mukaab, a proposed 400-metre-high cube that Saudi authorities presented as a landmark project.

But the development has since struggled to maintain momentum, with delays and mounting costs raising questions over its progress and financial viability.

New Murabba is not an isolated case. Saudi Arabia’s wider giga-project programme has also stumbled, with major developments including Neom and The Line facing delays and difficulties in turning ambitious plans into construction on the ground.

The problems come as the Public Investment Fund faces the challenge of financing a huge number of projects simultaneously, while Saudi Arabia continues to spend heavily on its Vision 2030 programme.

The growing number of stalled or delayed developments has exposed a widening gap between the spectacular projects announced by Riyadh and its ability to deliver them.

Dyke’s departure is therefore the latest setback for New Murabba and another indication of the mounting difficulties facing Saudi Arabia’s mega-project programme.