By 2029, Saudi Arabia will host the Asian Winter Games on a mountain that currently has no ski lifts. Achieving this requires transforming 2,600 meters of raw mountain into a functioning resort in less than four years, a timeline that will test whether NEOM can execute at the speed its ambitions demand.
Geography and Design
Trojena is located in the Sarawat range, where peaks reach 2,600 meters above sea level. This altitude is what makes real winter sports possible in the desert climate, a technical prerequisite rather than a marketing claim. The master plan divides the site into multiple clusters: alpine sports zones, a lakeside village, wellness and stargazing areas, and an adventure spine connecting trails, lifts, and activity nodes. The layout emphasizes operational flexibility, allowing different clusters to function independently or together, ensuring continuous activity across seasons. This is not a single resort; it is a deliberately networked mountain ecosystem designed for year-round economic and social impact.
Operational Ambition
NEOM frames Trojena as a year-round destination targeting hundreds of thousands of visitors and thousands of permanent jobs by 2030. This is not simply a statement of scale; it is an operational requirement. The project’s success depends on integrating tourism, hospitality, logistics, and sports infrastructure under one management framework capable of delivering measurable results. Every lift, trail, and hotel unit is designed to generate recurring economic activity, creating a prototype for service-sector growth outside oil dependency.
Engineering and Execution Challenges
Constructing ski infrastructure and resort facilities at this altitude presents technical, logistical, and financial hurdles. Equipment must be transported over rugged terrain, earthworks are extensive, and materials need precise sequencing to avoid schedule slippage. Reports indicate NEOM has had to adjust contracts and retender key portions of the ski village, reflecting the real-world complexity of executing a megaproject under compressed timelines. These are not delays in vision; they are the operational reality of building at scale in a location with no prior alpine development history.
Human Capital and Local Capacity
Operational success depends on skilled labor and resilient supply chains. Trojena’s workforce must include technicians, hospitality managers, and SMEs capable of supporting recurring operations rather than one-off construction. Roads, power, water, and waste infrastructure require both construction and ongoing maintenance. The project’s ultimate performance will hinge as much on the competence of staff operating lifts, maintaining chillers, and managing guest services as on the architecture itself. This is a test of Saudi Arabia’s ability to translate investment into enduring local capability.
Programming for Year-Round Viability
Trojena is designed for continuous engagement. Alpine slopes are complemented by artificial lakes for water sports, adventure circuits, and wellness retreats, creating a balance of high-energy and low-impact experiences. Hospitality clusters are positioned for operational efficiency, ensuring that guests can circulate safely and enjoyably across zones. The design spreads revenue opportunities across multiple operators and seasons, mitigating risk and creating repeat visitation patterns essential for a sustainable mountain economy.
Sustainability Imperatives
Trojena’s environmental performance will be closely scrutinized. Energy-intensive activities like snowmaking, lifts, and hotels must rely on renewable energy, while water management systems need to operate with precision in a desert context. Biodiversity and ecological impact are not secondary concerns; they are integral to credibility. Independent verification of sustainability metrics will determine whether Trojena’s claims are operational reality or aspirational statements.
Racing Toward 2029
The Asian Winter Games create a hard operational deadline. Trojena must deliver infrastructure, logistics, and hospitality services capable of hosting international athletes and visitors. Every delayed component translates into tangible risk for both event execution and long-term operational credibility. The project’s schedule will test NEOM’s ability to coordinate complex multi-sector operations under intense time pressure.
Signals and Metrics to Watch
Observers should focus on contract awards, milestone completions, operational hires, and pre-booking patterns. Progress in sustainability reporting, partnerships with experienced alpine operators, and the development of local supply chains will indicate whether Trojena is moving from concept to functioning destination. Each operational signal carries insight into the project’s feasibility and the Kingdom’s ability to meet ambitious Vision 2030 targets.
Defining Success
Trojena will succeed if it operates reliably, sustains economic activity, and maintains transparent reporting. Achieving this would make it more than a ski village; it would be a blueprint for functional, climate-adapted tourism in regions historically lacking infrastructure. The project tests Saudi Arabia’s ability to convert large-scale vision into consistent, measurable outcomes.
Conclusion
Trojena’s performance will be judged on operational reality, lift queues, occupancy rates, trained personnel, and visitor satisfaction, not renderings. For NEOM and Vision 2030, it is a proving ground: can strategic ambition be translated into functioning, economically meaningful infrastructure in a challenging environment? The coming years will determine whether Trojena becomes a model for future desert development or a cautionary example of the gap between vision and execution.
