Saudi Arabia has been forced to scale back plans for the Line, a 105-mile-long glass-walled city that was the centrepiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's economic diversification strategy. The project, part of the wider Neom development, is now expected to reach just 1.5 miles by 2030, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.
The Line was envisioned as a linear city housing 9 million people on a footprint of 13 square miles, with a price tag of $1.5 trillion (£1.2 trillion). However, the project has faced scepticism and criticism, including reports of budget overspends, changing visions, and the execution of tribe members protesting land seizures. At least one contractor has begun laying off workers.
The scaling back comes as the overall Neom budget for 2024 has yet to be approved by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund amid declining cash reserves. The project was promoted as a 'cognitive city' using artificial intelligence, but critics have described it as 'untethered from reality'.
