Photographer: Luke MacGregor / Bloomberg
Photographer: Luke MacGregor / Bloomberg
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed his latest vision of Saudi Arabia’s future beyond oil: a city without cars, roads or carbon emissions.
The 170-kilometer (106-mile) development called the “Line” will be part of the $ 500 billion project called “Neom,” the Crown Prince said in a televised speech 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 the crown jewel 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 skepticism and political controversy since its launch. Analysts wonder if it is realistic and can attract the necessary investment.
“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 Saudi Public Investment Fund.
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Sunday’s 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. He said the city would be a “revolution for humanity” with “zero cars, zero streets, zero emissions.”
No trip on the Line will exceed 20 minutes, he said. The city is said to be built around “ultra-high-speed transit and autonomous mobility solutions,” according to the statement.
(Updates with comments in the fifth paragraph, add the cost of the project in the second.)