France, June 25 -- French energy giant EDF has been dropped from Saudi Arabia's troubled Neom megaproject as the kingdom scales back its futuristic desert city amid safety concerns, technical challenges and ballooning costs.

EDF, a leader inhydro-electric technology, won the tender in January 2024 to carry out preliminary studies on the conception and construction of a hydroelectric power plant in Saudi Arabia's futuristic megacity in the desert, known as Neom.

But the Saudi authorities have quietly cancelled the contract, an investigation by Radio France revealed on Tuesday.

The kingdom informed EDF in March that they no longer required the hydroelectric plant. Instead, Neom officials said that "a mix of photovoltaic panels, wind powe...