A remarkable project underway in the desert of Saudi Arabia bears witness to the unmatched prowess of human ambition and innovation. The masterminds behind The Line, a city-sized skyscraper, stand out for their pioneering use of architectural excellence combined with intelligent urban planning. While initial criticism was widespread, there is now video evidence that the work is progressing steadily and on an ambitious scale.
The Line is a giant structure covered with mirrors to be built for about 9 million people, the population of New York. The giant scale of its length is enormous, as the measurement of it is at 170 kilometers (105 miles), its height reaches 500 meters (1,640 feet), and the width of it is barely 200 meters (656 feet). Despite practical, ethical, and environmental issues, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman believes that this great endeavor must go on.
In Neom, the new town in Saudi Arabia that is overseen by the company called Neom, there are wonderful earthworks that have been featured in a video from this week. Diggers and lorries do not stop, moving the soil to prepare for such an amazing project. The sheer immensity of this endeavor is astonishing, with millions of cubic meters of soil and water being displaced every week.
Neom giga-project includes many notable projects, The Line being only one of them. It is aimed at helping Saudi Arabia diversify the national economy with the objective of decreasing dependency on oil. One such building is a cuboid skyscraper that can fit 20 Empire State Buildings, a beautiful pair of twin skyscrapers, and an arena that hangs on a cliff face. Although The Line’s phase one is set to finish by 2030, we can see that this visionary enterprise will be remembered for centuries to come.