Featured Image Credit: Ot Sky/NEOM
Topics: News, Saudi Arabia
Callum Jones
Impressive drone footage has shown a $1 trillion megacity in construction in the northwest of Saudi Arabia.
The footage was shot by Saudi Arabian aerial photography company Ot Sky, showing work commencing on the megacity dubbed as The Line.
The line is being built as part of the Neom development, which is expected to be a staggering 170 kilometers long.
Alongside The Line, many other projects will also be built such as a ski resort and accommodation for the Saudi government.
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In the footage, it is clear that construction is underway to build the megacity, in what must be a monumental effort.
Numerous excavators can be seen digging a wide linear trench in the desert, with builders also on the ground monitoring their progress.
At one point, there are some shots of a giant hole which could be the start of construction for a transport system that is to be built underneath the length of the city.
This new transport system is designed to minimise disruption to nature and citizens, and the hope is that by using the high-speed trains, residents will be able to travel from one side of the city to another in just 20 minutes.
The Line was officially unveiled in earlier this year and is designed to house nine million people.
It will be 500 meters tall and will have a mirrored facade, with the megacity expected to be around the same size as the state of Massachusetts.
It will also be carbon-neutral, being powered entirely by renewable energy sources.
The plans to construct a megacity were made by Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud; however, many doubted it would be built due to its ambitious nature.
In document, the prince claimed the project would be completed by 2030 but engineers warned it could take up to 50 years for construction to be fully completed.
Work is underway though, but it hasn't come without its controversy.
Human rights organisation ALQST reported earlier this week that three men were forcibly evicted from the Neom site and have been sentenced to death.
The organisation said Shadli al-Huwaiti, Ibrahim al-Huwaiti and Ataullah al-Huwaiti were all sentenced to death earlier this month to make way for the megacity project.
The three men were believed to be against the displacement of locals to make way for the Neom project, so were sentenced on 2 October.
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