In a glossy video narrated by an American voice-over artist, Saudi Arabia previewed The Line, a 170km long, 500m high skyscraper – taller than New York’s Empire State Building. It is designed for nine million residents living in a “series of unique communities”. Residents will have access to “all their daily needs” in “neighborhoods within a five-minute walk.” They promise “autonomous” services through the use of artificial intelligence, in what is described as a “revolution in culture”. Image: The line is expected to be 170 km long. Photo: Saudi Press Agency The 200m-wide linear structure, which will be clad in mirror glass, is the desert kingdom’s attempt to create a “healthier, more sustainable quality of life” with communities “organized in three dimensions” – unlike traditional cities it says are “dysfunctional”. and polluted’ and ‘ignore nature’. Another video shows the resident of a gray urban jungle escaping to The Line, which is depicted as an oasis. To be built in the northwest of the country, it is planned to cover 34 square kilometers and the end-to-end journey is expected to take just 20 minutes. “There will be no need for cars” and carbon emissions will be zero, the country said. Energy and water supplies are described as “100% renewable”. Inside, there will be a “temperate microclimate all year round with natural ventilation”. Image: It will have “neighborhoods within a five-minute walk,” says the official announcement. Photo: Saudi Press Agency The futuristic project is part of NEOM, a $500 billion economic zone that is expected to be partially financed through a performance due in 2024. NEOM was announced in 2017 as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform plan, which is intended to help diversify the Saudi economy away from oil. The first phase of fundraising is expected to cost $319 billion, half of which will come from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund. The country will tap other sovereign wealth funds in the region and globally in the fourth quarter of this year to raise some of the remaining money, the crown prince said. Discussing The Line, he said that “since we’re making it from nothing, why copy normal cities?” He added: “I think it will be the best habitable area – by far – on the entire planet.”
