Out in the desert of northwestern Saudi Arabia, an engineering project unlike any other in human history is taking shape. The Line, part of the futuristic NEOM megaproject, is not just a radical urban concept but a massive construction effort that is rewriting the very rules of what is possible. At the heart of this monumental build is something rarely talked about yet fundamentally crucial: the foundation. And in the latest update, Giles Pendleton, Chief Operating Officer of The Line, pulled back the curtain on just how colossal this stage of the project really is.
According to Pendleton’s recent post on LinkedIn, The Line is now home to the world’s largest piling operation. Across the sands, construction crews are currently driving enormous friction piles deep into the earth using some of the most powerful drilling rigs ever assembled. These aren’t ordinary support columns.
Each pile measures 2.5 meters in diameter and extends 70 meters into the ground. And each one weighs a staggering 850 tones. For context, that’s roughly the combined weight of two fully loaded Boeing 747s.
So far, over 5,500 of these piles have already been installed. That’s just the beginning. Phase 1 alone will require over 16,000 of them. All of this is being done with fleets of enormous drilling rigs, the largest of their kind in the world, purpose-built to handle the sheer scale of this operation.
This is not just groundwork for a building; it is the backbone of an entirely new city that will eventually stretch 170 kilometers (~106 miles) through the desert in a single mirrored line.
To appreciate the enormity of this work, consider this: The total amount of concrete used so far for these piles exceeds 3.5 million cubic meters. That is more than one and a half times the concrete poured to construct the Hoover Dam. A structure that once stood as a symbol of mankind’s ability to tame nature has now been outpaced by what is essentially the substructure of just one phase of this desert city. And the visible towers haven’t even begun to rise.
Among those commenting on the update was Dr. Andy Davids, Technical Counsel at Bollinger+Grohmann and a seasoned veteran of megaprojects. He added a striking comparison from personal experience, noting that the entire Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, was built atop around 200 piles, each 1.5 meters in diameter and 75 meters long. That structure soars 828 meters into the sky. Now, imagine 16,000 larger piles being driven into the earth for The Line. It puts things into stunning perspective. As Dr. Davids aptly put it, this isn’t a building, it’s a city.
The scope is staggering, not just in size but in logistics. Transporting, aligning, and installing 850-tonne piles with surgical precision in the harsh desert environment is a feat that borders on the surreal. It speaks volumes about the ambition behind the project, but more importantly, about the engineering horsepower powering it.
While much of the world watches renderings of futuristic towers and mirror-clad city walls, the real action is happening underground. The largest drilling rigs on Earth are at work, sculpting the unseen foundation of what may one day become the most iconic city ever built. And right now, they’re just getting started.
