Photographer: Luke MacGregor / Bloomberg
Photographer: Luke MacGregor / Bloomberg
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced his latest plan for Saudi Arabia’s future beyond oil: a linear city with no cars, roads or carbon emissions.
The 170-kilometer (106-mile) development called the “Line” will be part of the $ 500 billion Neom project, the Crown Prince said in a televised speech on Sunday. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter.
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A press release described The Line as a “belt of future hyperconnected communities, without cars and roads and built around nature.” He said the city will have 1 million inhabitants and create 380,000 jobs by 2030. The infrastructure will cost between $ 100 and $ 200 billion, the Crown Prince said.
Neom is an important part of Prince Mohammed’s plan to diversify the economy of the world’s largest oil exporter. Announced in 2017, the project covers more than 10,000 square miles in a remote area in the northwest of the country. It is described on its website as “a bold and daring dream” that will become a hub for new technologies and companies.
The project was affected by however, skepticism and controversy since its launch, including opposition from residents forced to move to make way for construction. Analysts wonder if the plan is realistic and can attract the necessary investment in a region that already has well-established transportation and business centers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
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“The backbone of the investment in The Line will come from Neom’s $ 500 billion in support from the Saudi government, PIF and local and global investors for more than 10 years,” the Al-Ula reporter said. to the public publication of Saudi Arabia. Investment fund.
The announcement shows the extent to which Prince Mohammed is thinking about life after oil for the kingdom, which earned more than half of government gross revenue in 2020. The project was the first major development to be announced at Neom.
“Why do we agree to sacrifice nature for development?” said the prince, citing rising sea levels and carbon emissions in a rare way for a Saudi official.
No trip on the Line will exceed 20 minutes, he said. The city is said to be built around “ultra-high-speed transit,” according to the statement.
It will also contain one of the largest airports in the world, Neom chief executive Nadhmi Al-Nasr said in an interview with Al-Arabiya television. He did not give a time limit for construction, saying that only the airport will be the final element of the Line.
(Updates with details on the airport plan in paragraph 10, plus additional context in the fifth.)