Saudi Arabia’s futuristic megacity ‘the line’ faces a new reality
Once hailed as the most radical experiment in twenty-first-century urbanism, THE LINE, (find designboom’s previous coverage here), a 170-kilometer-long mirrored megacity slicing through the desert, stands at the center of Saudi Arabia’s shifting architectural agenda. Conceived as the backbone of NEOM, the $500-billion development in the country’s northwest, it promised a car-free, carbon-neutral city contained within two parallel walls rising 500 meters high, an ambitious vision that faces an unexpected test of endurance.
According to multiple recent reports, Saudi Arabia is entering a period of reassessment for its vast Vision 2030 portfolio, a suite of architectural megaprojects valued at more than $1 trillion. Behind the futuristic renderings and bold rhetoric, officials have acknowledged that the pace and cost of construction have become unsustainable amid falling oil prices and growing budget deficits. THE LINE, once envisioned to stretch 170 kilometers across the Tabuk desert, has now reportedly been scaled back to a few miles of initial construction as the government redirects resources and timelines across its development landscape.
all images courtesy of NEOM unless stated otherwise
rethinking Futuristic Urban Ambitions Amid Spiraling Costs
According to Reuters, the kingdom’s $925-billion sovereign wealth fund is redirecting its focus after construction delays and spiraling costs across the country’s so-called gigaprojects. Insiders cited in The Sunday Times describe a ‘course correction,’ with THE LINE reportedly scaled back to only a few miles of construction, a fraction of its original length. The slowdown signals a broader reconsideration of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s master plan to diversify the economy beyond oil and to recast Saudi Arabia as a global hub for innovation, tourism, and culture.
Architecturally, THE LINE was designed to condense urban life into a single continuous structure, a stacked ecosystem of housing, public space, vertical farms, and transport systems, all linked by high-speed transit. Renderings released by NEOM in 2022 showed the glistening mirrored facade of the structure reflecting the surrounding desert and sea. The project’s radical linear geometry challenged conventional city planning, proposing density without sprawl and mobility without cars.
a 170-kilometer-long mirrored megacity slicing through the desert
Investment Into AI, Gaming, and Future-Ready Cities
Yet as oil revenues fall and public spending tightens, other megadevelopments, including the Trojena mountain resort, planned host of the 2029 Asian Winter Games,, the Sindalah luxury island, and the $50-billion New Murabba district in Riyadh, have also faced delays or scaling back. ‘We spent too much,’ one official admitted to The Sunday Times. ‘We rushed at 100 miles an hour. We need to reprioritise.’ The Independent notes that the slowdown does not signal cancellation but rather a moment to ensure that the architectural ambition of the kingdom aligns with economic reality.
Amid this recalibration, Saudi Arabia is channeling new investment toward sectors like artificial intelligence, gaming, and data infrastructure, technologies that may still influence NEOM’s evolution. Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of the $63-billion Diriyah heritage redevelopment, described THE LINE not as a failure but as ‘a laboratory for what quality of life might look like in 2040.’
conceived as the backbone of NEOM
the project promices a car-free, carbon-neutral city
contained within two parallel walls rising 500 meters high
THE LINE has reportedly been scaled back to a few miles of initial construction
NEOM Stadium | image courtesy of Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup 2034 bid
the slowdown signals a broader reconsideration of Vision 2030
the project is set to reach a fraction of its original length
Oxagon
the Trojena mountain resort has also faced delays or scaling back
project info:
name: THE LINE
location: NEOM | @discoverneom, Saudi Arabia
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