"Not long after being appointed crown prince by Saudi Arabia's royal family in 2017, Mohammed bin Salman announced an enormous construction project for a futuristic linear city called Neom. At the heart of the vision is a 1,600 by 660-foot skyscraper called The Line, initially meant to span the entire 105-mile length of the city and accommodate a population of nine million people."
"And to call it a megalomaniac pipe dream would be an understatement. The outside of the wall-like city was meant to be entirely covered by a mirrored finish that reflected the surrounding desert - and feature a 30-story building hanging from a bridge. As the Financial Times reports in an extensive and revealing new feature, the sci-fi vision has since collided with reality at full force."
"While extensive excavation and tunneling for a railway that was meant to connect The Line to a nearby airport can be seen from space, construction has already fallen far behind schedule. The scope of the enormous project has also been reined in significantly, from 20 city modules that were once meant to house millions of people to a mere three, per the FT."
Mohammed bin Salman launched Neom in 2017 with a centerpiece called The Line: a wall-like, mirrored skyscraper intended to span 105 miles and house nine million people. The original concept included 20 city modules, a 30-story building suspended from a bridge, and extensive tunneling and rail links. Construction has largely stalled, visible excavation contrasts with delayed foundations, and outside investors are balking at escalating costs. The project has been downsized dramatically to just three modules from the originally planned 20, timelines for inhabitance have slipped, and reports cite numerous worker deaths raising human rights concerns.
Read at Futurism
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