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Home  >  Travel  >  Saudi Arabia’s Ambitious Plan Rivals Egypt’s Pyramids
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Saudi Arabia’s Ambitious Plan Rivals Egypt’s Pyramids

Kyle Stewart Posted onJuly 24, 2022July 24, 2022 14 Comments

Confidential documents detail Saudi Arabia’s ambitious plans to build a modern marvel that will rival the pyramids of Giza, and the details do not disappoint. NEOM: The Line.


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Unparalleled Parallel Buildings

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman al Saud (MBS), has made clear his plans for a most ambitious plan that he intends to rival the pyramids. First referred to as a “smart city”, the “Mirror Line” is a pair of parallel buildings running up to 75 miles long and rising to as high as 1600 feet in sections.

The two structures will feature a stadium built 1,000 feet above ground level, reaching the sea, bisecting mountains, a government housing complex, and an aerotropolis.

The buildings will be so long that they will require a high-speed train (or several I presume) to run underneath them and bring residents, travelers, and workers along the structure that is as long as Hadrian’s Wall or just longer than Interstate “405” in southern California.

Hanging hydroponic gardens will keep the buildings self-sufficient for fruits, vegetables, and grains though there was no mention of livestock.

The plan is part of the Kingdom’s NEOM, a radical transformation project to modernize the country and redefine it.

The Line by NEOM

Will It Ever Get Built?

The exterior is to be reflective according to documents submitted to the Wall Street Journal, lending its “mirror” title to a double entendre. Designs were initially thought to cost as much $500 billion and take up to fifty years to complete. New estimates suggest it could be a $1 trillion project and the Prince has challenged his team to a far more expedient schedule.

However, the Crown Prince appears dedicated to converting his economy from petroleum to establishing it as a destination much like Dubai and diversifying the economy.

“If Saudi Arabia succeeds in building it, the structure would be like nothing else in the world. It is already challenging the urban planners who are designing it. For instance, they are facing a 2030 completion deadline imposed by the prince’s national transformation plan”

“[American design firm, Morphesis] propose building it in stages by creating 2,600-foot-long structures that will connect along a line, with varying heights up to 1,600 feet, higher than the Empire State Building.” … “Because the earth arches about 8 inches per mile, the documents say, designers propose leaving a gap at the top of the 2,600-foot modules to “bend” the structures around the world.” – WSJ

Buoyed by high oil prices, the Kingdom may not have an issue paying for the project, but the timeline would truly make the Line a staggering feat.

The Line courtesy of NEOM

Conclusion

While NEOM has been a known quantity for some time, the new details about the line with specifics are an interesting addition. It also demonstrates MBS and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are willing to double down on their target of “Vision 2030” with the completion of major projects that seem improbable. I’m not sure that I am sold on the ability to finish the project on time, on budget, matching the huge aspirations, but frankly, it doesn’t have to be in order to be successful. We see other examples like the Burj Khalifa and Palm artificial island real estate development projects that seemed too distant to complete at the time they were proposed. If the Saudis are successful in NEOM and the Line, they will achieve the enviable modern world-leader designation for which they aim.

What do you think? Will the Line happen? How much of NEOM is going to be completed on time as expected? Will you add this to your bucket list destinations?

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About Author

Kyle Stewart

Kyle is a freelance travel writer with contributions to Time, the Washington Post, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Reuters, Huffington Post, MapHappy, Live And Lets Fly and many other media outlets. He is also co-founder of Scottandthomas.com, a travel agency that delivers "Travel Personalized." He focuses on using miles and points to provide a premium experience for his wife and daughter. Email: sherpa@thetripsherpa.com

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14 Comments

  1. Debit Reply
    July 24, 2022 at 11:11 am

    Saudi Arabia has become more progressive than dumb Christian idiots in the USA. We can understand why the white Republican males hated sharia law. Sharia law allows for abortion.

    Anyway now that we are on the slippery slope, i hope we can bring stoning and decapitation as punishments to the US. Good luck to all women. Though shouldn’t they get their male guardians permission to be on the internet.

    Women, Saudi goverment will sponsor you to move there. Just accept Allah and become one of the 16 wives of a Saudi cleric. Looking like a much better option now, eh?

    • Debit Reply
      July 24, 2022 at 11:31 am

      Anyway, NEOM would be amazing if it becomes a reality. They should construct a couple of nuke plants in the desert, add a desalination plant, use the water to create a forest first and then start building. Keep growing the forest. Change the local climate over a the next few decades to couple of centuries. Unfortunately people are not that long term, and certainly not capitalists, unless long term incentives are put in place.

      • Airfarer Reply
        July 24, 2022 at 11:46 am

        I think you’re onto something here. The desalination plants will suck so much water from the ocean as to lower rising sea levels caused by global warming. The trees can absorb the water vapor and we’re all saved.

        • Debit Reply
          July 24, 2022 at 12:29 pm

          Liberals are BSing about global warming but they don’t try to reduce population. Today people will go hungry all over the world because food prices are too high yet christians want us to pop out more kids and liberals want to give more money to people popping out more kids. They will talk about planting more trees but will do nothing to save the amazon that already exists. Pelosi will pray for you as good chritian but hoard all her wealth. What a bunch of hypocritical charlatans.

          Desalination plants are in the future of american southwest as well. Arizona, nevada and so cal for sure. And they will soon be drinking their toilet water. Recycled of course. This is the price to pay for popping out kids willy nilly.

          • Amy Fischer
            July 24, 2022 at 2:24 pm

            I agree that liberals should be having no kids. Christian Conservatives fail to qualify that Christian Conservatives should be having more kids and liberals should be having none. There is a severe overpopulation problem on earth because the worst groups are popping out kids and the quality ones are having too few. Popping out kids who will cause mayhem in cities and ruin peace and tranquility is not our plan or cause. We should be pushing mandatory abortions and sterilization for the troublemaking communities so they don’t have kids who run wild in NYC and make life difficult for the quality ones.

          • Aaron
            July 24, 2022 at 3:28 pm

            I can’t tell who is smoking more crack, you or Debit…

  2. Cory Reply
    July 24, 2022 at 3:48 pm

    The two people above have a warped view. I don’t suggest they should have children to help reduce the spread of their stupid mentality.

  3. Christian Reply
    July 24, 2022 at 5:15 pm

    Why build this? Sure it would be unique but what I don’t see here is an actual purpose for this thing. What specifics would make this vastly better than anything else?

    • gwayrav Reply
      July 24, 2022 at 5:32 pm

      Hubris?

  4. Tony N Reply
    July 24, 2022 at 6:28 pm

    They don’t know what to do with their money. Maybe they should build more desalination technology on the west coast USA.

  5. Stuart Reply
    July 24, 2022 at 6:58 pm

    This may well be the future given the fact that in 50 years a large part of the Middle East will not be inhabitable the way it is now. They have seen the studies, they know fill well. The UAE, as an example, and which at least benefits from a coastal climate, could see summer temps reaching 130 degrees by 2050. Imagine places inland.

    No doubt this is a preview of what’s to come. As climate change takes hold the building of these mega complexes that removes the outdoors will become all too real. Even the EU has now appointed an expert to study future development and how to account for climate change and warming. Ironically, it will get traction, because it involves spending money and making stuff (corporate loves this) rather than actually fixing the problem which takes money from corporate.

    Imagine a world where our grandchildren live in cities like this. Never to hike in Yosemite. Never to see Bhutan. Never to smell a real forest. Or feel the joy of jumping into a cold free flowing river naked and happy. Just existing in a virtual world that is removed from risk, touch, or true sensory. All because we did nothing.

    • Christian Reply
      July 24, 2022 at 9:13 pm

      The Caves Of Steel by Asimov. Interesting take.

  6. Sam Reply
    July 25, 2022 at 12:12 am

    Cool. A US architect firm his helping the guy that murdered a journalist in Istanbul.

  7. Mick Reply
    July 25, 2022 at 2:10 am

    Wonder how many poor foreign workers will lose their lives building this? Prob in the 10s of thousands if they want it done by 2030

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