Featured Image Credit: Neom
Saudi Arabia has started building its incredibly ambitious megacity in the desert.
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, known by his initials MBS, is renowned for his pioneering projects designed to amplify the kingdom.
His latest project is the construction of a futuristic-looking megacity known as 'NEOM'.
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The city's name is a portmanteau of the Greek 'Neo' for new and 'M' which stands for two things - 'mostaqbal', the Arabic for 'future' and, according to the project's website, the first letter of the Crown Prince's name.
According to the developer, NEOM will consist of ten projects that they refer to as regions.
One element of the huge project that has been dubbed 'The Line' includes two parallel skyscrapers that form a single 'street' and span up to 75 miles long. These skyscrapers - worth a staggering $1 trillion - are expected to have all the amenities needed for living incorporated, including a rail service that takes residents from east to west across the NEOM region, eliminating the need for cars. The buildings will reportedly be covered with mirrored facades.
'The Line' is now being built in the Tabuk province of northwestern Saudi Arabia and developers are hopeful that the project could be completed as soon as 2030.
It might sound like something from a sci-fi movie, but this ambitious project is enormous in scope and has been championed by the Crown Prince as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to help the country look for ways to move away from its reliance on oil.
The Crown Prince previously announced that NEOM will pave the way for living for the future, running on ‘100 percent renewable energy’.
Speaking in July 2022, he said that the city could be home to up to nine million people.
The Crown Prince explained: “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.
“NEOM is leading a team of the brightest minds in architecture, engineering and construction to make the idea of building upwards a reality.
“The city's vertically layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities. The designs of The Line embody how urban communities will be in the future in an environment free from roads, cars and emissions."
The project's advertising claimed that the development is on 'virgin' ground but the area is already home to the Huwaitat Tribe who have lived there long before the foundation of Saudi Arabia. Due to the developments, an estimation of around 20,000 tribe members now face eviction.
Alia Hayel Aboutiyah al-Huwaiti, an activist living in London, told The Guardian: “It’s definitely not for the people already living there! It’s for tourists, people with money. But not for the original people living there.”
