Webuild says NEOM terminates connector high-speed line contract in Saudi Arabia
21/05/2026 19:45
May 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's high-tech NEOM has terminated Webuild's WBD.MI contract for the Connector High-Speed Line project in Tabuk, Italy's largest construction company said on Thursday. The termination will become effective on May 27. The works are around 20% complete, with a remaining project backlog for Webuild of around 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion). Webuild said the project's termination concludes all of the company's work with NEOM. The Milan-based company said that NEOM will reimburse Webuild for all costs incurred up to the termination date, including costs related to site disengagement and demobilization. Despite the setback, the company said it maintains a construction backlog exceeding 50 billion euros. NEOM in March had terminated Webuild's contract for a system of three dams, with a project backlog of 2.8 billion euros. NEOM is a $500 billion mega-project central to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to overhaul the kingdom's economy Webuild had earlier said its exposure to the Middle East was limited to about 5% of its backlog. ($1 = 0.8604 euros) (Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) ((chandni.shah@thomsonreuters.com))