Saudi Arabia’s Futuristic Megacity “The Line” Faces Collapse
The NEOM megaproject — once promoted as a revolutionary 170-kilometer linear city for 9 million residents — is reportedly falling apart. Internal sources now suggest that “The Line” may never open, despite billions already spent and global attention focused on its futuristic design.
A Vision Too Big to Build
Designed as a car-free, mirror-walled city stretching across the desert, The Line was meant to redefine urban life. But engineering teams later concluded that core architectural elements — including the 400-meter-high parallel mirrored structures — were physically impossible to construct within the promised timelines.
The logistics, material demands, and energy requirements far exceeded feasible limits, according to project managers familiar with the internal planning process.
Investors Pulled Back, Construction Slowed
Despite over $50 billion already invested, foreign capital did not flow into NEOM as expected. Major international investors expressed doubts about the project’s viability and long-term return on investment. As funding slowed, construction sites across the desert also began shutting down or operating at minimal capacity.
Several executives working on NEOM now state privately that The Line “will never be built” in its originally advertised form.
Projected Costs Exploded to $8.8 Trillion
The initial budget of $500 billion ballooned dramatically. Updated estimates suggest that a full realization of The Line could cost up to $8.8 trillion — a figure that surpasses the annual GDP of nearly every country on Earth.
Even Saudi Arabia, with its vast oil wealth, cannot justify such an astronomical expense, leading to a major downsizing and re-evaluation of the entire concept.
Human Rights Watch: Thousands of Worker Deaths
Reports from Human Rights Watch indicate that thousands of migrant workers have already died during NEOM construction due to extreme heat, unsafe working conditions, and inadequate oversight. These findings intensified global criticism and complicate the project's international credibility.
Labor rights organizations have called the death toll “catastrophic” and demanded independent investigations.
Saudi Arabia Shifts to AI and Data Centers
With The Line facing collapse, Saudi Arabia is shifting its strategy. Instead of constructing a massive desert megacity, the government is now prioritizing technology infrastructure — particularly AI-focused data centers, cloud platforms, and digital industry hubs.
Officials believe these initiatives offer a more realistic path to attracting global tech partners and strengthening the country's economic transformation plan.
Conclusion
The Line was once marketed as a symbol of the future — a bold reimagining of how humanity could live. Instead, it has become a case study in over-ambition, flawed feasibility estimates, and the risks of visionary planning detached from practical engineering and economic constraints. Saudi Arabia’s pivot toward AI infrastructure suggests a more grounded and strategically sound direction for the coming decade.
Editorial Team — CoinBotLab