4 ms·

I bet that is has very little to do with safety, or even economics. Middle east megaprojects serve royal purposes. They give jobs to the sons of elite familie

I bet that is has very little to do with safety, or even economics. Middle east megaprojects serve royal purposes. They give jobs to the sons of elite families. (Yes, in this context I do mean only the male children.) It keeps them engaged as "developers" doing things like soliciting bids on giant buildings or launching media campaigns, which is much less of a threat than them stewing at home or in the desert thinking up ways to overthrow kings. But once a project is built and the ribbons cut, the cool-factor ebbs away pretty fast. Every rich guy wants to be the first to build or do something big on day one. Few hang around to run the theme park come days two through four hundred. So the big thing is built. Time to tear it down and start building the next project. The process is the purpose and the goal.

a_shovel 3y ago
The problem is that tearing it down would be a huge embarrassment to everyone involved, especially if it was closed due to safety. Leaving it SBNO indefinitely makes it an eyesore, but lets them avoid assigning blame like a demolition would force them to.
- zucked 3y ago
  I don't quite understand, though - is there a certain length it needs to exist before it can be torn down without judgement? The article mentions the Dubai Pearl, which broke ground in the early oughts finally being demolished. Admittedly, I don't know as much about the individual emirates as I could, but Dubai seems like the most reckless of the bunch. The Palm, the (World) Islands, it seems like they're just throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks. I wouldn't touch anything there with a ten foot pole, investment-wise.
  - sandworm101 3y ago
    >> certain length it needs to exist before it can be torn down without judgement? It comes down for scrap the day after the last creditor gives up trying to get a return on their investment. So long as a foreign investor is holding onto their note, unwilling to sell for pennies on the dollar, the project will remain in perpetual limbo. But eventually all the property rights will be bought back by whatever prince started the cycle. Then it can be pulled down and a new eyesore commissioned.
TheSpiceIsLife 3y ago
Sounds unsurprisingly similar to the promotion incentives at a Alphabet.
NickC25 3y ago
Precisely. The whole point of these massive projects in Dubai, Qatar, Saudi, etc... is effectively make-work for those who might have the ability to one day overthrow the king....and to make it appear to the populace at large that yes, the ruling families are living super lavishly, but they are* trying to improve the country as a whole to attract FDI, international companies (and universities), etc.. all to improve the country's international image. *I mean that as loosely as possible. Most middle eastern kings don't give a damn about the general population as long as their power isn't threatened. Disclaimer: my dad was recruited by the Neom project in Saudi but turned it down. We have a family friend who was high up in the project and said it was effectively a massive pay day for consultants who did nothing besides wax the egos of Saudi princes who want to look good. The project is ambitious as hell and may or may not ever get finished. All that said, the Saudi princes who want to look good don't actually do anything. Much like how the military is staffed by sons of elite families, they aren't educated to actually do what is necessary, because they grew up with beyond-fuck-you-money and never actually had to do any work.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Suddenly those Pyramids and the Sphinx make a lot more sense... and they're still lying around a few thousand years later.
- sandworm101 3y ago
  It isn't just the middle east. Follow UK history, or any other royal system, and you will find the primary job of the King is always to appease, flatter, suppress, or otherwise occupy the elite families that might one day challenge his. It continues to the present day. All those garden parties. All those property development schemes. All those royal charities run by Oxbridge grads. All those offshore tax havens. Royal families today play the same games in Europe as they do in the middle east. It isn't healthy, but the system has survived the centuries.
  - gambiting 3y ago
    It's not even remotely on the same scale as the Saudis though. British monarchy is wealthy but compared to the Saudi wealth they are paupers.
ramesh31 3y ago
>Middle east megaprojects serve royal purposes. They give jobs to the sons of elite families. (Yes, in this context I do mean only the male children.) It keeps them engaged as "developers" doing things like soliciting bids on giant buildings or launching media campaigns, which is much less of a threat than them stewing at home or in the desert thinking up ways to overthrow kings. This is more or less my take on "The Line" project in Saudi Arabia. A literal giant hole in the ground to serve as an excuse to shovel endless amounts of untracked money into. It is never intended to be finished or even seriously built.
yongjik 3y ago
This sounds pretty familiar, minus the scheming princes part. Mega-construction projects involve so much money that I think it's the preferred method for many politicians to funnel money to themselves and their friends. And people cheer on them thinking it will bring jobs or increase their property values. Wanton environmental destruction is usually a bonus, but who cares about that.
whatwouldyodo 3y ago
[flagged]
- ambyra 3y ago
  Build giant Ferris wheels. You would think the would spend that money on buying land in less inhospitable places, maybe somewhere in Africa. Natural resources would be nice. Water. Food.
- mhb 3y ago
  Mmm. Dessert country. Buy other countries in more temperate regions?
- gbear605 3y ago
  Build industry, and educate the people to be able to work in those industries, to supply goods and services. Spread economic resources around to create a middle class that generates demand for goods and services. That’s the pattern that works for every else on Earth, and there’s no reason that deserts would prevent it. The situation is made harder by some factors, but conveniently they currently have lots of money to overcome those difficulties.
- sandworm101 3y ago
  Trade. Professional services. Finance. Solar/wind power. Tax havens. For centuries the middle east saw very wealthy kingdoms based on nothing more than taxing the asia-europe trade passing through their lands. Arguably Saudi Arabia is founded on a tourist/pilgrim trade (Mecca).

a_shovel 3y ago

The problem is that tearing it down would be a huge embarrassment to everyone involved, especially if it was closed due to safety. Leaving it SBNO indefinitely makes it an eyesore, but lets them avoid assigning blame like a demolition would force them to.

zucked 3y ago
I don't quite understand, though - is there a certain length it needs to exist before it can be torn down without judgement? The article mentions the Dubai Pearl, which broke ground in the early oughts finally being demolished. Admittedly, I don't know as much about the individual emirates as I could, but Dubai seems like the most reckless of the bunch. The Palm, the (World) Islands, it seems like they're just throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks. I wouldn't touch anything there with a ten foot pole, investment-wise.
- sandworm101 3y ago
  >> certain length it needs to exist before it can be torn down without judgement? It comes down for scrap the day after the last creditor gives up trying to get a return on their investment. So long as a foreign investor is holding onto their note, unwilling to sell for pennies on the dollar, the project will remain in perpetual limbo. But eventually all the property rights will be bought back by whatever prince started the cycle. Then it can be pulled down and a new eyesore commissioned.

TheSpiceIsLife 3y ago

Sounds unsurprisingly similar to the promotion incentives at a Alphabet.

NickC25 3y ago

Precisely. The whole point of these massive projects in Dubai, Qatar, Saudi, etc... is effectively make-work for those who might have the ability to one day overthrow the king....and to make it appear to the populace at large that yes, the ruling families are living super lavishly, but they are* trying to improve the country as a whole to attract FDI, international companies (and universities), etc.. all to improve the country's international image. *I mean that as loosely as possible. Most middle eastern kings don't give a damn about the general population as long as their power isn't threatened. Disclaimer: my dad was recruited by the Neom project in Saudi but turned it down. We have a family friend who was high up in the project and said it was effectively a massive pay day for consultants who did nothing besides wax the egos of Saudi princes who want to look good. The project is ambitious as hell and may or may not ever get finished. All that said, the Saudi princes who want to look good don't actually do anything. Much like how the military is staffed by sons of elite families, they aren't educated to actually do what is necessary, because they grew up with beyond-fuck-you-money and never actually had to do any work.

jacquesm 3y ago
Suddenly those Pyramids and the Sphinx make a lot more sense... and they're still lying around a few thousand years later.
sandworm101 3y ago
It isn't just the middle east. Follow UK history, or any other royal system, and you will find the primary job of the King is always to appease, flatter, suppress, or otherwise occupy the elite families that might one day challenge his. It continues to the present day. All those garden parties. All those property development schemes. All those royal charities run by Oxbridge grads. All those offshore tax havens. Royal families today play the same games in Europe as they do in the middle east. It isn't healthy, but the system has survived the centuries.
- gambiting 3y ago
  It's not even remotely on the same scale as the Saudis though. British monarchy is wealthy but compared to the Saudi wealth they are paupers.

ramesh31 3y ago

>Middle east megaprojects serve royal purposes. They give jobs to the sons of elite families. (Yes, in this context I do mean only the male children.) It keeps them engaged as "developers" doing things like soliciting bids on giant buildings or launching media campaigns, which is much less of a threat than them stewing at home or in the desert thinking up ways to overthrow kings. This is more or less my take on "The Line" project in Saudi Arabia. A literal giant hole in the ground to serve as an excuse to shovel endless amounts of untracked money into. It is never intended to be finished or even seriously built.

yongjik 3y ago

This sounds pretty familiar, minus the scheming princes part. Mega-construction projects involve so much money that I think it's the preferred method for many politicians to funnel money to themselves and their friends. And people cheer on them thinking it will bring jobs or increase their property values. Wanton environmental destruction is usually a bonus, but who cares about that.

whatwouldyodo 3y ago

[flagged]

ambyra 3y ago
Build giant Ferris wheels. You would think the would spend that money on buying land in less inhospitable places, maybe somewhere in Africa. Natural resources would be nice. Water. Food.
mhb 3y ago
Mmm. Dessert country. Buy other countries in more temperate regions?
gbear605 3y ago
Build industry, and educate the people to be able to work in those industries, to supply goods and services. Spread economic resources around to create a middle class that generates demand for goods and services. That’s the pattern that works for every else on Earth, and there’s no reason that deserts would prevent it. The situation is made harder by some factors, but conveniently they currently have lots of money to overcome those difficulties.
sandworm101 3y ago
Trade. Professional services. Finance. Solar/wind power. Tax havens. For centuries the middle east saw very wealthy kingdoms based on nothing more than taxing the asia-europe trade passing through their lands. Arguably Saudi Arabia is founded on a tourist/pilgrim trade (Mecca).