If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video should do the work of millions. Neom certainly believes it is better to show the world proof of their visionary giga-project and has released yet another progress video for The Line in Saudi Arabia. Come 2030, the first phase of The Line will be complete according to a senior executive. In addition to visual proof, the enthusiasm of Denis Hickey, Chief Development Officer of The LINE, is palpable. He stated, ‘The energy within Saudi Arabia at the moment is incredible.’ “We’ve done a lot of the foundation work, literally and figuratively. I think the construction of The Line is unique in terms of its industrialization and its modularized approach.”
Since 2017, the groundbreaking Neom City has grabbed headlines. While it boggled the minds of most, it also brought alive the cynics. Especially The Line, which is the most futuristic and out-of-the-box project, the videos help track the development of the world’s biggest earthworks operation. Per Designboom, millions of cubic meters of earth and water are being moved each week. This relentless activity will shape a city unlike any other, sooner than later.
“We think there’s an opportunity to create a better model for a city to interact with the landscape and nature and the environment,” Hickey added. The Line is undoubtedly the flagship project of the $1 trillion mega-development that will house 9 million residents in a world that’s sustainable, unordinary, car-free, and packed with futuristic technology. The Line megacity will feature two 75-mile-long skyscrapers designed by US studio Morphosis. They are said to feature a giant fake moon, animatronic dinosaurs, robot farmers, and tropical rainforests. Interestingly, residents will have access to all daily essentials within a five-minute walk, in addition to high-speed rail. While the first phase may, in fact, be completed by 2030, the entire project will only be accomplished in a timeframe of 50 years.
The megaprojects are making the kingdom’s treasury dry—
Behind every ambition is a visionary, for Neom City it was Saudi Crown Prince MBS who catapulted his Kingdom from being an oil-rich state to a nation undergoing tremendous growth and becoming a hub of luxury tourism. While there is incredible progress, the dreams haven’t taken tangible shape and are often met with cynics and hard-hitting realities. The extreme and expensive projects have led Saudi Arabia to start borrowing funds for megaprojects including Neom, The Wall Street Journal reported. Saudi Arabia’s PIF that was funneling huge amounts of money into these projects is now facing a crunch.
The wealth has depleted to its lowest level since December 2020, with about $15 billion on hand, The Journal reported. For the first time ever, the oil-rich Kingdom is borrowing funds, and simultaneously selling shares in state oil company Aramco, per the report. Even Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan was in favor of delaying some projects to mitigate inflationary pressures and help alleviate supply bottlenecks. Neom City is evidently not one of these as the new progress video shows work to be on in full swing.
