Report claims 21,000 workers died building ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ projects: Fact or fiction?

Approximately 21,000 workers have reportedly died during the construction of Saudi Arabia’s ‘The Line’ as part of the kingdom’s futuristic megacity NEOM, raising concerns regarding labor and human rights conditions associated with the development. However, Saudi government categorically denied these claims terming the reports as “misinformation”.

With averaging more than eight deaths per day, a documentary aired by British broadcaster ITV last month claimed that up to 21,000 migrant workers in Saudi Arabia have died during the construction of ‘The Line’ – one of NEOM’s grandest megaprojects – over the course of the eight years, adding that up to 100,000 additional workers have gone missing since the work began in 2017.

Most of the migrant workers reportedly belong to countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. The documentary claimed that harsh working conditions including long hours, wage theft, and other human rights abuses make the workers feel like “trapped slaves” or “beggars.”

Newsweek also claimed, citing Nepal’s foreign employment board, that death of 650 Nepali workers within these projects still remained unexplained.

The Saudi government, however, denies these allegations.

Saudi authorities also said that the kingdom’s labor laws “mandate that employers provide comprehensive health insurance that covers essential preventive, therapeutic and healthcare services for all employees.