Drawing the Line: Neom, the Controversial Megacity in Saudi Arabia
The world is full of breath-taking wonders created by human hands over the centuries: the Pyramids in Egypt; the Nazca Lines and Machu Pichu in Peru; the lost city of Petra in Jordan, to name just a few. The human imagination is limitless. And with better technology, better tools and better equipment, it truly does appear as though anything is possible.
At least, that seems to be the mindset of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) who, in 2021, unveiled his plans to the world for his creation “The Line,” also known as the city of Neom. According to its official website, Neom will be the pinnacle of vertical urbanism, a utopia for ‘people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for sustainable living, working and prospering.’
But what exactly is Neom? Marketed as a futuristic, sci-fi fantastical megaproject in the deserts of north-western Saudi Arabia, Neom will be an enormous, linear megastructure with mirrored cladding that stretches across 170 kilometres of land, 500 metres tall and 200 metres wide. Although the digitally rendered images seem to show a sheer vertical wall, The Line will actually be comprised of two huge parallel buildings, connected via walkways. The city’s 9 million residents will have access to all facilities within a five-minute walk, as well as access to high-speed rail which will be able to take you from one end of The Line to the other in 20 minutes. The city will be surrounded by expanses of desert plains, snow-capped mountains and the exquisite natural beauty of the Red Sea. With 40% of the world projected to be less than 6 hours away by air, The Line will be a strategically positioned destination.
Of course, it goes without saying that such a project won’t be cheap. His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly budgeted $500 billion for The Line’s construction, but is prepared to spend as much as it takes to see his vision come to fruition. This is his intended legacy, his mark upon the world that will be remembered for generations to come. And for good reason.
The city will be 100% powered by renewable energy. There will be no cars, no emissions, no CO2. The ideal climate will be controlled all year round. Residents will be surrounded by nature and diverse, open spaces. Some 380,000 jobs will be created, yet all autonomous services will be powered by AI. Overall, it seems that The Line is directly addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing humanity today by delivering new and imaginative solutions to reimagine a sustainable, successful future. The CGI-reproduced images and videos created to illustrate the size and scale of the project once it has been completed show garishly green gardens, towering metallic walls and mechanically smiling families lying in the grass or wandering carelessly through parks. A futuristic utopia, without question. A realistic one? Well, that much remains to be seen.
According to drone footage released in October 2022, work to build the city has already started. Numerous excavators can be seen digging the wide linear trench in the desert, while lorries loaded with rocks and sand drive back and forth. The project will take years, of that there is no doubt. However, many environmental, architectural and urban planning experts are expressing doubt about the claims of The Line. Uncertainties include concerns about the construction’s ability to deliver on its environmental promises without encountering significant physical problems and a huge, embodied carbon cost that will overwhelmingly negate any ecological benefits.
The question has to be demanded – is The Line humanity’s utopia? Or a dystopian nightmare dreamed up by people who have too much cash and not enough sense? My own money is on the latter. Neom, a city sealed in by walls, a human-built monstrosity situated in the middle of an uninhabitable desert, relying on technology to make it liveable. The visually pleasing aesthetic of the lush ecosystem is artificial, a green forest devoid of nature. This Eden’s Garden hides the ugly truth at the centre of The Line – it’s a city built on a lack of ethics and moral principles. So far, these include the Saudi Specialized Criminal Court sentencing three men to death over their social media criticism and campaigns against the government’s program of forced evictions that had been enacted to make room for The Line to be built. These men are members of the Huwaitat Tribe, a formerly nomadic group endemic to the north-western Tabuk province, where excavations for the project are taking place. These people have been subjects of harassment, violence, bribes and imprisonment since the first announcements of the vision for The Line in 2021.
It certainly appears as if the Saudi Arabian government places a higher priority on undertaking sci-fi fantastical projects as a solution for humanity’s energy crisis, over the needs of its citizens and even over the needs of the rest of the world. Nobody asked for a vertical megacity in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert. And nobody is yet thanking the Prince for his efforts – certainly not the environment, nor the displaced and oppressed members of the Huwaitat tribe.
For now, the rest of the world can only watch as Neom’s construction goes on. And at what point, exactly, the Line will be drawn under this project.
Image courtesy of Walkerssk via Wikimedia, ©2016.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
