Saudi Arabia’s ambitious $1 trillion proposal to construct a linear megacity stretching through its desert has undergone significant alterations, representing a considerable retreat for the Gulf nation’s ambitious plans.
Initially introduced in 2021 as ‘The Line’, this futuristic city was envisioned to extend 100 miles in length and 200 meters in width, offering residents complete access to essential services within a five-minute walk, from the Red Sea through the desert interior.
The Line was the flagship component of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Neom project, aimed at transforming Saudi Arabia’s economic portfolio by investing heavily in infrastructure and tourism.
Originally budgeted at $500 billion in 2017, concerns have arisen regarding escalating expenses for The Line and the broader Neom initiative, with some projections suggesting a total cost of $8 trillion to realize the full vision of this extensive development.
During an investment forum held in Riyadh, a government representative acknowledged in November: “We rushed at 100 miles an hour. We are now running deficits. We need to reprioritise.”
According to sources close to the regime, the Financial Times reports that the crown prince now aims to develop a ‘far smaller’ version of the originally planned 110-mile megacity, due to the rapidly increasing consultancy and construction expenses.
The Financial Times suggests that up to $50 billion may have been spent on The Line before the decision was made to drastically change the project’s direction, with the new plan shifting focus to developing a large-scale data center leveraging the completed coastal infrastructure.
“The Line will be a totally different concept. It will use the existing infrastructure in a totally different manner,” a source informed the Financial Times.
They further elaborated that the Neom initiative has shifted focus away from social or cultural investments, concentrating instead on fostering modern industries and capitalizing on the AI surge.
“Data centres need water cooling and this is right on the coast so it will have seawater cooling. So it will be a major centre for data centres,” the source mentioned.
The first completed project within Neom was Sindalah, a yachting resort that opened in October 2024, three years behind schedule and at triple the original cost. Despite a lavish launch event featuring celebrities like Will Smith and Alicia Keys, Crown Prince reportedly found the costly development underwhelming, resulting in the dismissal of Neom’s chief executive, Nadhmi al-Nasr.