Construction has reportedly begun on the first phase of the Line, Saudi Arabia’s insanely ambitious plan to build a 170-km (105 mile)-long gleaming megacity in the desert. We also now know how many people will live there initially – and when they’re moving in.
According to a report from the local website Saudi Gazette, Neom’s Denis Hickey took to the stage during the PIF Private Sector Forum in Riyadh last week and revealed the details.
The Line’s first phase will be named Hidden Marina and stretch 2.5 km (1.5 miles) over the desert. It will rise to a height of 500 m (1,640 ft) and comprise three individual modular segments, with a mirrored exterior. Its built area will measure 21 million square meters (almost 5,200 acres). To put this into perspective, the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, has a built area of 350,000 square meters (roughly 86 acres).
Alongside its manmade marina, details of which are not available yet, the project will host an initial population of around 200,000 residents and will include over 80,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, commercial and retail spaces, alongside fire stations, schools, police, and security services, and all the other things necessary to keep a modern city ticking over, with AI-controlled surveillance keeping an eye on energy usage and occupancy. The idea is that residents will have access to all daily essentials within a five-minute walk, while high-speed rail will provide transit around the metropolis.
Over 140,000 workers are currently engaged in the project’s construction, with US$140 billion invested in infrastructure to support the budding city. The Hidden Marina is expected to be completed by 2030, allowing the Line’s uppermost floor to host a stadium for the Saudi Arabia-hosted 2034 World Cup soccer tournament.
The news of construction follows a slew of news and rumors trickling out from Neom – not all good – including that it’s using around 20% of the world’s available steel and that robots will help build it. Indeed, the Saudi authorities will need all the help they can get, as if the Line itself wasn’t ambitious enough, the country also plans to complete the world’s new tallest skyscraper, the JEC Tower by then, as well as the gigantic Mukaab, and lots of other amazing hotel resorts and towers too.
