Featured Image Credit: NEOM/TheLine
Saudi Arabia's enormous linear city project, The Line, is allegedly facing delays.
According to Bloomberg, project leaders have recently heavily revised its timeline to account for much slower progress than was first planned.
The headline figures quoted in the piece indicate that by 2030, when the first phase of the project was supposed to be complete, there will only be 300,000 residents instead of the 1.5 million that were planned at first.
Did you know construction of THE LINE is the largest earthworks and piling operation in the world right now? 🌍
— NEOM (@NEOM) February 27, 2024
Here are some key facts… 🧵 #TheLINE #NEOM pic.twitter.com/EM8PnJvzXQ
On top of this, the project will apparently only span 2.4 kilometers by this point, out of the final aim of 170 kilometers.
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The project's organisers NEOM, and its main funder the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, both declined to comment on the report from Bloomberg.
The wider project has a total budget of $1.5 trillion, according to widespread reports, and Saudi Arabia believes it can be a huge boon to its tourist industry and international reputation. This budget takes into account the entire project, though, with the phase that ends in 2030 apparently taking up some $320 billion of this.
However, it was always going to be something that took years to construct, with the sheer scale of its aims making it a major challenge.
The Line is planned as a linear city, a narrow strip of dense construction that will apparently include all the amenities of modern life, with housing and commercial space interspersed with greenery.
It also aims to be carbon-neutral and to run entirely on renewable energy, making it potentially an argument for how our cities could look in the future. This is furthered by its visual design, with the outside of the city clad in mirrors that make it almost blend into its arid surroundings.
Previously announced plans have included a so-called city of entertainment called Qiddiya City which will play host to a futuristic-looking racing circuit that aims to host Formula One races in the next few years.
Previous reports also said there will be a public transit system that will seemingly be able to move extremely quickly, so you wouldn't spend too long commuting.
