Saudi Arabia is currently in the process of building a megacity known as The Line as part of its Vision 20230 project, which is said to be costing an eye-watering $100 – 200 billion.
Fronted by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is thought to be worth around $25 billion, Vision 2030 is described as ‘a blueprint that is diversifying the economy, empowering citizens, creating a vibrant environment for both local and international investors, and establishing Saudi Arabia as a global leader’.
While the ginormous venture is hoped to boost tourism in Saudi Arabia, it hasn’t come without its flaws.
In February 2023, Middle East Eye reported that at least 47 members of the Al-Howeitat tribe in Saudi Arabia had been either arrested or detained for resisting eviction from the land in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk province to make way for the project.
A report by human rights organisation Alqst called The Dark Side of Neom also found that 14 members of the Al-Howeitat tribe had been given prison sentences between 15 and 50 years.
Saudi Arabia’s The Line is costing billions to build (Neom)
Elsewhere, it’s been reported that 21,000 workers have died since the Vision 2030 plans were launched in 2016.
The harrowing figure was revealed in an ITV documentary titled Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia that was released last month.
But the Saudi Arabian National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, which manages regulations at the nation’s construction sites, has denied that this is the case.
It said in a statement, as per Newsweek: “In reference to the misinformation circulating across various media platforms – particularly claims suggesting an increase in worker fatalities linked to working conditions in Saudi Arabia, accompanied by unfounded statistics lacking credible sources – the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health in Saudi Arabia unequivocally refutes these assertions.”
It continued: “The council affirms the work-related fatalities in Saudi Arabia is 1.12 per 100,000 workers. This figure positions Saudi Arabia among the lowest globally in terms of work-related fatalities.”
Away from the apparent ‘misinformation’, Neom has issued an update on The Line and shared that phase one will soon begin.
Yesterday (November 11), Neom announced that it had appointed ‘world-leading partners to deliver the core city planning, design, and engineering for the first phase of THE LINE’.
The announcement went on: “Delugan Meissl Associate Architects (DMAA), Gensler and Mott MacDonald are collaborating with THE LINE’s design, development and project delivery teams to provide urban design, planning consultancy and infrastructure design for the first phase of the city.
“NEOM, with the support of this group, has established a sophisticated design ecosystem with advanced and rigorous methodologies to deliver on THE LINE’s urban objectives. This will then be followed by the planning and design of the neighborhoods within phase one, which will be undertaken by a suite of architects starting early 2025.”
Seven years have passed since the country decided to create Neom, the city will run solely on renewable energy with no need of roads.
It is part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s policy programme Vision 2030.
Vision 2030 is a programme to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy, including reducing the kingdom’s economic dependance on oil.
Construction is underway on The Line, a city which will sit on the coast of the Red Sea, and it will be a single 170km-long and 200m wide city, without cars.
Access will primarily be through a train running back and forth down its center, carrying residents from one end to the other.
A description of The Line on Neom’s website reads: “No roads, cars or emissions, it will run on 100% renewable energy and 95% of land will be preserved for nature.
Production has started. (NEOM)
“People’s health and wellbeing will be prioritized over transportation and infrastructure, unlike traditional cities.”
The revolutionary megacity has already received $28.7 billion, Bloomberg reports, with the majority of that going towards the streamline city The Line.
Just a small drop in the ocean with those behind the plans believing the total project could rack up to a staggering $1.5 trillion – while official documents estimated it would come in at $500 billion.
To put it all into comparison, UK-based charity Oxfam estimated it would cost around $23 billion to fight extreme hunger with another $14 billion on top of that to combat chronic hunger.
Although, the World Bank is currently working to tackle the hunger crisis pledging $45 billion to do so this year.
The Line is set to be made of mirrored material. (Neom)
Vision 2030 has so far cost the kingdom $1.3 trillion.
Real estate and infrastructure project investment rose by four percent in a single year real estate consultancy Knight Frank told Bloomberg.
Speaking in 2022 the Crown Prince, who is the de-facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, said: “We cannot ignore the liveability and environmental crises facing our world’s cities, and NEOM is at the forefront of delivering new and imaginative solutions to address these issues.”
He had originally planned to host nine million people in the city by 2030, but Bloomberg has reported that this estimate has been scaled back and just 300,000 people are currently set to live there by then.
Known as The Line, the city that will run off 100 percent renewable energy will be located in NEOM, an urban area being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province.
The idea was first unveiled several years ago and is expected to be completed by 2030.
The project is predicted to cost a staggering $1 trillion, with the future Saudi Arabian city having already received $28.7 billion in funding.
As for the size of The Line, it will be only 200 meters wide, 170 kilometers long and 500 meters above sea level, a 2022 press release stated.
“THE LINE will eventually accommodate 9 million residents and will be built on a footprint of 34 square kilometers, which is unheard of when compared to other cities of similar capacity,” it went on.
In a new update, it was revealed that a new concrete factory costing $186,000,000 (700 million Saudi Riyal) is going to be erected to help build The Line.
The country has partnered up with construction company Asas Al-Mohileb to build the ready-mix concrete facility.
The Line will cost over $1 trillion to build (NEOM)
It’s expected that the factory will have capacity to produce over 20,000 cubic meters of ready-mix green concrete per day.
Nadhmi Al-Nasr, NEOM CEO, said of the new factory plans: “The delivery of these concrete plants is another testament to the rapid progress happening at NEOM. It also underscores the strength of the Kingdom’s construction industry, and the critical role local partnerships play in delivering this transformational project efficiently and sustainably.
“We are proud to partner with local contractors and appreciate their contribution to NEOM’s advancement across our portfolio of projects, fulfilling NEOM’s goal of becoming a hub for local industry leaders and entrepreneurs in support of Saudi Vision 2030.”
The Line will run on 100 percent renewable energy (NEOM)
As per the press release issued earlier this month, progress is already being made on The Line with nearly 1,000 out of over 30,000 piles placed so far.
While we have several years to wait for The Line’s competition, NEOM’s first destination, the island of Sindalah, opens in the very near future.
The island promises to offer ‘unique experiences above and below the water. Spread over 840,000 square meters, this island escape will offer world-class luxury’.
The $1.2 billion project is reported to open for the first time between October 25 and 27, 2024.
A plane passenger has shared an aerial image which shows the current status of Saudi Arabia’s project, ‘THE LINE’.
The ‘architectural masterpiece’ is due to be completed in 2030 and it looks like it will be a pretty huge job.
The Line is set to be made of mirrored material. (Neom)
If you haven’t heard of THE LINE, it’s a pretty spectacular $1 trillion project, which is expected to take years to complete.
Described as a ‘cognitive city stretching across 170 kilometers, from the epic mountains of NEOM across inspirational desert valleys to the beautiful Red Sea’, THE LINE is expected to house a whopping nine million people and will run on 100 percent renewable energy.
Built on only 34 square kilometers, ‘The Line’ is just 200 meters wide and 170 kilometers long.
Meanwhile, creators say it will have an ‘ideal’ year-round climate meaning residents can ‘enjoy surrounding nature when traveling on foot’ and ‘have access to all facilities within a five-minute walk’.
There’ll also be a high speed rail service, with a transit time of 20 minutes from end-to-end.
HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said: “At THE LINE’s launch last year, we committed to a civilizational revolution that puts humans first based on a radical change in urban planning.
“The designs revealed today for the city’s vertically layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities and create a model for nature preservation and enhanced human livability.
“THE LINE will tackle the challenges facing humanity in urban life today and will shine a light on alternative ways to live.
“We cannot ignore the livability and environmental crises facing our world’s cities, and NEOM is at the forefront of delivering new and imaginative solutions to address these issues. NEOM is leading a team of the brightest minds in architecture, engineering and construction to make the idea of building upwards a reality.”
One Redditor shared an aerial image (Reddit)
In a recent update, one Reddit user, OohHeaven, shared an aerial photograph of the project under construction.
“I flew over Saudi Arabia’s ‘The Line’ city under construction today,” they wrote.
The photo appears to show the area of dessert under construction, with the project spanning far into the horizon.
One person commented on the post: “This has been ‘under construction’ for a while.”
While another responded: “To be fair construction work takes a long time especially in regard to large scale projects, and it doesn’t get much more large scale than that.”
Meanwhile, others questioned how long the project was due to take.
Saudi Arabia has offered China the chance to invest in its futuristic urban area project estimated to cost $1 trillion.
A new urban project called NEOM is currently being constructed in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk Province, with the area set to include a Black Mirror-style smart city called The Line.
Saudi Arabia’s plans for NEOM are already underway and have been taking impressive shape across the northern tip of the Red Sea.
So far, the project has received $500 billion in backing by the Public Investment Fund – Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund – and it’s estimated as costing a staggering total of $1 trillion to build.
However, earlier this month, reports arose of the project having to be scaled back, knocking its estimates for the amount of people expected to be able to live in The Line by 2030 from 1.5 million to 300,000, Bloomberg reported, quoting a person ‘familiar with the matter’.
And it would seem Saudi Arabia is also now looking to other countries for help financing the ambitious project.
The project is already underway (Instagram/ @discoverneom)
A series of presentations and meetings were held in China’s capital of Beijing on 15 April alongside Shanghai on 17 April.
Organised in partnership with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Beijing and Shanghai, NEOM hosts showcased the ‘on-the-ground progress’ of the project so far, alongside ‘milestones to date’.
NEOM’s update on its website states: “The events highlighted opportunities for Chinese companies to engage and invest in NEOM, with a number of companies expressing significant interest and discussing tangible next steps with NEOM leadership.”
And Saudi Arabia isn’t just seeking help from China in the form of funding, but in the construction of the project too – ‘over 100’ Chinese construction companies reportedly present in the forum.
Saudi Arabia is seeking funding from Chinese investors (Instagram/ @discoverneom)
Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO, NEOM, said: “We are grateful to CCPIT Beijing and CCPIT Shanghai for supporting our visit to China and for the opportunity to present NEOM’s vision.
“To date, NEOM has already engaged with over 15 major Chinese businesses and invested in a number of Chinese startups to support the growth and diversification of NEOM. Collaboration with China will continue to play a vital role in the development of NEOM and we look forward strengthening our engagement with the country’s business community.”
Production has started. (NEOM)
NEOM isn’t just appealing to China to get involved in The Line though, it’s ‘global roadshow’ also showcasing the project to other ‘key international markets’ including ‘Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, and London’.
NEOM adds: “The project is now open to global, regional and local investors/partners – especially those with a progressive approach.”
