Neom – The Line

A megacity is coming up in the north-west of Saudi Arabia. It is a city in straight line which is 170 kms in length, 200 meters wide and 500 meters tall. It is covered with glass façade. Initially it looked like a crypto metaverse project. The total expected cost is 1 trillion USD and it will be housing 9 million residents. It will have a high speed train which will connect residents. Any place in it will be reachable in 5 minutes.
The Saudi government is looking way forward from oil, as the world is moving away from fossil fuel to renewable energy. They are investing heavily into infrastructure and tourism. They have a vision 2030 to have a good chunk of their revenue from non-oil sources.

The word Neom in Hebrew means monster or evil. Giving a city this kind of name is scary. The renderings which are heavily advertised by Neom of ‘The line’ shows that it has a linear glass façade and the sunlight which will be reflected by this can have a burning effect on the surroundings. Also the animal species which live in the desert must have a provision to cross from one side to other given that it is a straight line. The sunlight reaching the bottom of ‘The line’ will also be an issue as it is a 500 meters tall city.

Apart from some disadvantages there are a lot of positive outcomes that can be expected from this mega project. It will be a hub of world class facilities and infrastructure, as it is a city being built from scratch and world-renowned architectures are working on it. There wont be any restrictions as in other parts of Saudi Arabia. It is expected to be a hub of trade, business, tourism and inventions. It is expected to be fully built in 50 years. It will be truly new wonder of the world.