Developers share update on ‘rapid progress’ of Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion giga-project ‘The Line’

The development of Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion city appears to be moving along swiftly as a new update has been shared.

Saudi Arabia’s 'The Line' could be the next step in city living as the country pushes ahead with its massive project, NEOM.

If you haven't heard of The Line, it's basically a huge mirrored skyscraper laid on its side in the desert. It's either the natural evolution of humanity or a step towards a dystopian future, depending on who you ask.

It's 105 miles long as well as 200m wide and has been designed in the hopes of housing a whopping nine million people once it's completed.

So, for this massive project you would expect you might hear of its completion in a couple decades right?

Well, the minds behind it are sticking to their 2030 completion timetable, and have explained how they are making it happen.

NEOM

The Chief Development Officer behind The Line, Denis Hickey, gave all those curious about the project an update in a YouTube video released in late February.

“The energy within Saudi Arabia at the moment is incredible,” he said.

“I think the plan that is laid out in the 2030 vision statement by his Royal Highness is really clear and I think it has galvanised everybody within the Kingdom and I think NEOM is the pinnacle of an example of that change and it is really exciting to be a part of that.”

NEOM

People are believed to be working around the clock to ensure developments steadily move forward and the narrator in the video said things are ‘progressing rapidly’.

“We’ve done a lot of the foundation work literally and figuratively. We are ready to go. I think the construction of The Line is unique in terms of its industrialization and its modularized approach,” Hickey continued.

"We think there’s an opportunity to create a better model for a city to interact with the landscape and nature and the environment and we think The Line is going to be an example to the rest of the world."

The one of a kind mega-project is being built as part of NEOM, a new urban area that's being built in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, an area that is virtually barren.

So, I guess we have to watch this desert space to see how the development progresses over the years.

Topics: News, World News

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.