Saudi Arabia’s Line Project Faces Major Scale-Back Amid Rising Costs
Construction on The Line, part of Saudi Arabia’s Neom megaproject, has slowed dramatically. The bold vision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a futuristic vertical city across the desert now appears severely reduced in scale.
The Line, once planned as a 106-mile stretch of mirrored towers creating a car-free, climate-controlled city, was meant to redefine urban living from mountains to coast. However, as progress dragged and expenses rose, the project began colliding with the realities of engineering and economics.
According to the Financial Times, soaring costs and a lack of expected international investment have forced significant cutbacks. To date, roughly $50 billion has been spent, leaving much of the desert scattered with unfinished structures and stalled sites.
Neom officials maintain that The Line remains “a strategic priority” and will ultimately “provide a new blueprint for humanity by changing the way people live,” while noting it is now a “multi-generational development of unprecedented scale and complexity.”
Summary
The once utopian dream of The Line has been substantially scaled back, with Saudi Arabia reevaluating its most ambitious urban project under financial and logistical pressure.
Author’s Summary: Saudi Arabia’s futuristic Line city has been dramatically downsized as costs near $10 trillion, marking a major reality check for the Neom megaproject’s lofty ambitions.