Work begins on 'The Line', Saudi Arabia's futuristic, sustainable city
Saudi Arabia begins work on The Line, a futuristic vertical city unveiled in 2021 by the Riyadh government that aims to house approximately 9 million people. The Line will also be a sustainable city based on renewable energies where there will be no roads, cars or carbon emissions. Instead, the metropolis will have a high-speed train to which all residents will have access.
The futuristic megacity will run on 100% renewable energy and 95% of the space will be reserved for nature. As the project states, "unlike traditional cities, people's health and well-being will be prioritised over transport and infrastructure".
اختتم معرضنا في الظهران بنجاح مبهر✅
— NEOM (@NEOM) September 26, 2022
حضر آلاف الزوار إلى معرض تجربة "ذا لاين".
تعرّف على انطباعاتهم وآرائهم?#ذا_لاين #نيوم pic.twitter.com/eFqN4XXTU4
The Line - which will stretch across the northeast of the country from the Red Sea - will be 200 metres wide, 500 metres long, 170 kilometres long and will be located 500 metres above sea level.
This project is part of Vision 2030, a Saudi programme aimed at diversifying the Kingdom's economy, as well as reforming sectors such as tourism, infrastructure and education.
The Line will also be part of another futuristic Saudi city, NEOM, located in the Tabuk region: "NEOM will be a destination, a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model of sustainable living, working and prosperity," says the project's website.
NEOM is investing in the metaverse and artificial intelligence (AI). In this way, through the metaverse, everyone will be able to visit NEOM virtually before investing in the city. In the same way, this technology will also extend to The Line, which will feature robots and holograms.
NEOM will be home to an airport, a seaport, industrial centres, research, sports and training facilities. In addition to The Line, the Saudi authorities have outlined two projects that will be included in the udder: Trojena and Oxagon.
Trojena, which is presented as "the mountain of Neom", will be able to enjoy natural landscapes and practice snow sports such as skiing thanks to technology and innovation. For this reason, it has been selected as the venue for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which is why the project is scheduled to be completed a few years earlier, in 2026.
It’s official… TROJENA will host the 9th #AsianWinterGames in 2029 ?
— NEOM (@NEOM) October 4, 2022
From our world-class, cutting-edge mountain destination, we plan to put on the competition’s best event yet ? Will you be attending?#TROJENA2029 #NEOM pic.twitter.com/oPYmjeN3rO
As Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underlined, "Trojena will redefine mountain tourism by creating a link based on the principles of ecotourism, highlighting our efforts to preserve nature and improve the quality of life".
In addition, Oxagon will be the industrial and technological centre of NEOM. This project will be implemented by bringing together "cutting-edge approaches to Industry 4.0 and the circular economy to create factories of the future for products of the future". This project "will contribute to Saudi Arabia's trade and redefine the global approach to industrial development in the future," said Mohammed bin Salman.
