21,000 Killed Working on Saudi Megaprojects During Construction: Report - Newsweek

Thousands of workers have reportedly been killed or have gone missing during the construction of several megaprojects in Saudi Arabia.

Around 21,000 foreign workers have died, and 100,000 more have gone missing since 2017, working on several projects as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 initiative, according to an ITV documentary.

The report found that migrant workers brought to Saudi Arabia from India, Bangladesh and Nepal were repeatedly killed in work accidents or by poor conditions at the construction sites across the country.

Workers described their treatment as "trapped slaves" and "beggars," with several violations of work safety regulations reported. Around 100,000 migrants have been reported missing since the construction projects first began eight years ago, leading to serious human rights investigations in Saudi Arabia.

Nepal's foreign employment board, which manages the well-being of Nepalese workers abroad, has reported that the deaths of over 650 Nepalese migrants to Saudi Arabia remain unexplained.

Newsweek reached out to the Public Investment Fund, which manages the Vision 2030 projects, for comment via email.

In one of the worst cases in the documentary, a Nepalese worker identified as Raju Bishwakarma called friends and family for help, saying, "Please rescue me," before being found dead in his room after reportedly being told he could leave if he paid a fine equal to five months' salary.

The projects being worked on are primarily part of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's flagship project. This project is spending more than a trillion dollars in an attempt to diversify the nation's economy away from oil and towards tourism.

Chief amongst these projects is The Line, a 105-mile-long "linear city" that has cost $500 billion. Construction on The Line, also known as Neom, has been troubled, with rising costs and a delayed schedule that resulted in its estimated population shrinking from 9 million to just a few hundred thousand.

Neom is the world's largest construction site, with construction on what could be the world's largest building happening just a few miles south along the coast in Jeddah. A major influx of workers into Saudi Arabia began in 2017 when construction on Vision 2030 began in earnest.

In a statement to ITV, Neom said that it was investigating the claims and that it requires its contractors to follow rules based on Saudi laws and international labor organization standards.

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