Photographer: Luke MacGregor / Bloomberg
Photographer: Luke MacGregor / Bloomberg
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveils his latest vision for 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 on Sunday. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter.
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A news release described The Line as a viable “band of hyper-connected future communities, without cars and roads and built around nature.” The city said that by 2030 the city would have 1 million inhabitants and create 380,000 jobs. 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 crude exporter. Announced in 2017, the project covers more than 10,000 square kilometers in a remote area in the northwest of the country. It is described on its website as ‘a brave and daring dream’ that will become a hub for new technologies and businesses.
The project was plagued by skepticism and political controversy since its introduction. Analysts are asking if this is realistic and can attract the necessary investment.
“The backbone of the investment in The Line comes from the $ 500 billion support to Neom by the Saudi government, PIF and local and global investors over ten years,” the prince told reporters in Al-Ula, referring to Saudi Arabia. Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
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The announcement on Sunday shows the extent to which Prince Mohammed is reflecting on life after oil for the kingdom, which in 2020 earned more than half of the government’s revenue from crude. The project was the first major development announced in Neom.
“Why do we accept the sacrifice of nature for development?” said the prince, referring to rising sea levels and carbon emissions in a way that is rare for a Saudi official. According to him, the city will be a ‘revolution for mankind’ with ‘zero cars, zero streets, no emissions’.
No trip within The Line will last longer than 20 minutes, he said. According to the statement, the city would be built around ‘ultra-fast transport and autonomous mobility solutions’.
(Updates with comments in the fifth paragraph, add the cost of the project in the second place.)