ID: 1661
Presenting Author: Margot Petitpierre
Session: 627 - The Self-Fullfilling Prophecy of local opposition to projects
Status: pending
Paralysed by fear a Saudi project is walling itself off in secrecy. This lack of transparency risks generating rumours and distrust, with the opacity itself becoming the enemy of compliance.
Driven by its Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a leader in digital transformation and aligning with international Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards. This strategy aims to diversify its economy and project an image of modernity, partly to meet the demands of an exceptionally young and highly connected population. Despite this ambition for openness and adherence to standards, a deeply entrenched culture of secrecy and information hoarding persists.
This dichotomy is illustrated by an infrastructure project in Riyadh, which is subject to a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). The developer is paralysed by a dual fear: non-compliance with international standards and the risk of displeasing the government. Out of fear of making a mistake, the developer opts for absolute silence, thereby self-sabotaging the effort. This silence has serious consequences, as the strict enforcement of the NDA fundamentally restricts the ability to present the project to Stakeholders. In doing so, the developer makes the execution of social studies—an essential pillar of international compliance—impossible.
The paradox lies in the fact that, in attempting to be beyond reproach, the developer walls themselves off in a secrecy that precisely generates the social and regulatory risk they dread, fuelling rumours and distrust. Transparency is therefore not a mere normative requirement, but an operational necessity: the culture of secrecy, by generating inaction, becomes the very source of risks to the project’s security and success.
General Manager Asia (Insuco), Margot Petitpierre is a social scientist and ESG specialist including in stakeholder engagement for major African and Asian projects.