DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia have agreed to indefinitely postpone the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which were to have been held in a mountain resort in Saudi’s futuristic city project NEOM.

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games after the Olympic Council of Asia on Thursday named Almaty as the new venue, replacing Saudi Arabia. The decision was announced on the sidelines of the Winter Olympic Games in Italy,

Kazakhstan will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games after Saudi Arabia's withdrawal.

Saudi Arabia and the Olympic Council of Asia have postponed the 2029 Asian Winter Games indefinitely, originally set for the NEOM venue. Future standalone winter sports events will focus on sustainable development.

The decision to move the 2029 Asian Winter Games was necessitated by the realisation that Trojena, a project requiring a vertical ski village and a massive man-made lake to be carved into the Sarawat Mountains,

The postponement marks a setback for the kingdom, which has committed to hosting several major events over the next decade.

The Games had originally been due to be held in Neom, a still under-construction mega-city. Saudi Arabia has had to scale back several ambitious development projects due to rising costs and falling oil prices.

Kazakhstan has officially been designated as the host for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, following Saudi Arabia's withdrawal from the event. This announcement, made by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) during the Winter Olympic Games in Italy, marks a significant moment for the Central Asian nation, particularly in its quest to promote winter sports.

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia will be represented at the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics after the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee officially confirmed the Kingdom’s participation in the Games, which will be hosted by Italy from Feb.

Despite Trojena’s cooler high-altitude climate at NEOM, limited snowfall and challenging terrain pose significant engineering and logistical hurdles

The Asian Winter Games usually feature Olympic-level athletes from China, Japan, South Korea, India and other nations Read more at The Business Times.