The Line – Restructuring the future of infra and living with Saudi Arabia
The Line is a horizontal megacity that is being built in Neom, Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia. It is intended to be devoid of roads, vehicles, or carbon footprint. The city, which has a total length of 170 km (110 mi), is a component of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, which according to Saudi Arabia, will boost GDP by $48 billion and provide 460,000 new jobs. It is a $500 billion project and is slated to be the first Neom development. The city’s plans are for 9 million inhabitants. Also, by October 2022, digging operations had begun along the full operation’s length.
Introduction to Line – The linear city
The Line’s design features two mirror-image structures with an open environment in between that have a combined span of 200 meters (660 feet) and a combined altitude of 500 meters (1,600 ft).
Sources of sustainable electricity will be used only to operate the town. Three layers will make up the system: one on the earth’s substrate for walkers, one below the earth for facilities, and one below the surface for vehicles. People will be compensated for providing information to The Line, which will utilize AI technology to observe the community and apply forecast and statistical algorithms to discover ways to enhance everyday life for its inhabitants.
95% of Neom’s natural environment will be preserved by the 170 km (110 mi) long Line. It will extend along the Hejaz railway roughly from the Red Sea to Tabuk. Nine million individuals are expected to live there, giving it a concentration of 260,000 per square kilometer. It is far greater than the most densely populated region, Manila with 44000 people living per square KM.
Cost of the project
The anticipated cost of the construction is between US$100 and US$200 billion, with some projections reaching up to $1 trillion. The Saudi administration asserts that it will boost trade liberalization, generate 460,000 jobs, and add 180 billion SAR (US$48 billion) to the country’s GDP by 2030.
Public data on the project – Line
Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, revealed The Line’s concept in a speech that was televised by a Saudi state broadcaster on January 10, 2021. The first inhabitants were anticipated to relocate there during 2024, as construction work started in October 2021. The program’s initial stage was expected to be finished in 2030 as of July 2022.
On July 25, 2022, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is also the chairman of the NEOM Board of Directors, released a press release and a marketing film, which increased public attention to the development.
Criticism of the project
Since it is not possible to build a 500-meter-tall structure out of low-carbon components, the development’s environmental impact in the glass, steel, and concrete would be approximately 1.8 gigatonnes of Carbon dioxide equivalents. According to him, the 170-km design would be hazardous for birds as infrastructure like freeways, create a sizable obstacle to nearby habitats and migrating fauna.
Experts in distribution rights, hypothesized that the town’s information gathering plan would turn it into a “surveillance city” due to agreements that might skew permission for transmitting intelligence and Saudi Arabia’s shoddy record on human rights which might signal possible leakage of sensitive data.
Conservatives worried that the construction would produce a “totalitarian” and “synthetic” facility that had already uprooted the Huwaitat indigenous tribe and would have an impact on the passage of mammals and birds raising doubts about the architecture’s strengths and ecological concerns. The Line was under development in October 2022, and major digging activity was being done throughout the whole development course, according to aerial shots made public.
Amidst all the criticism, the digging started in October this year. Right now, it is very difficult to say if the project will deliver as planned or if will it trouble the environment. We must wait till its completion to pass a judgment regarding its viability because the Arabs have always surprised the world.
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