The Line: Saudi Arabia’s Futuristic Linear City ProjectVision and Urban Planning Philosophy

The Line is an audacious urban development in northwest Saudi Arabia that aims to redefine city living. Unlike traditional cities that sprawl outward, The Line is conceived as a single linear city stretching 170 kilometers across desert and coastal terrain. This “city in a line” will consist of two parallel skyscrapers 200 meters wide and 500 meters tall, enclosed by mirrored façades. Within this narrow footprint, up to 9 million residents are planned to live in vertically layered communities. The design stacks city functions in three dimensions – a surface layer for pedestrians, and lower layers for infrastructure and high-speed transit. By building upward instead of outward, the project claims it can house a massive population on just 34 square kilometers of land, eliminating the need for cars and reducing the infrastructure footprint of urban life. The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has pitched The Line as a “civilizational revolution”, addressing issues of livability and sprawl by creating a walkable, AI-enabled metropolis in the desert. In essence, it is a bold urban planning experiment: a zero-gravity city that challenges the horizontal spread of cities by compressing everything into a soaring, efficient corridor.

Sustainability is at the core of The Line’s philosophy. The city is planned with no roads or cars, running entirely on renewable energy. Its compact design will preserve up to 95% of the surrounding land for nature, avoiding the environmental destruction associated with urban expansion. Planners promise an ideal microclimate regulated by the structure’s design – balancing sunlight, shade, and natural ventilation – to ensure comfort in a region known for extreme heat. By concentrating development, The Line aims to minimize interference with the natural landscape and reduce per-capita resource use. Daily essentials will be within a 5-minute walk for all residents, and a high-speed rail running beneath the city could shuttle people end-to-end in about 20 minutes. This car-free, transit-oriented model prioritizes walkability, green space, and clean air. Technological innovation underpins the vision: the entire city is planned to be “cognitive,” with ubiquitous AI systems optimizing power and water use, transportation, and even public safety. Data and sensors will continuously monitor infrastructure and predict needs, ostensibly creating a more efficient and personalized urban experience. Residents might even be rewarded for contributing their data to improve city services. In short, The Line’s long-term vision is a smart, sustainable city that eliminates the pollution and congestion of today’s metropolises, aligning with global trends in green development and smart-city technology.

Integration with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030

The Line is more than an architectural marvel – it is a flagship of Saudi Vision 2030, the kingdom’s strategic blueprint to diversify its economy away from oil. Envisioned as the centerpiece of the NEOM mega-project, The Line symbolizes Saudi Arabia’s push into high-tech industries, sustainable development, and tourism. By creating a city “from scratch” with cutting-edge design, Saudi leaders seek to attract global talent, investors, and companies. The project is intended to generate hundreds of thousands of new jobs and contribute significantly to non-oil GDP; Saudi authorities estimate it could add around 180 billion SAR (~$48 billion) to GDP by 2030 and create 460,000 jobs. These figures underscore how critical The Line is to the country’s economic future and its appeal to investors. Government support for the project is unequivocal – the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s $700+ billion sovereign wealth fund, is bankrolling a large share of the development. In fact, the Crown Prince announced that the first phase (to be completed by 2030) would cost an astonishing SAR 1.2 trillion (around $320 billion), with PIF directly financing half that amount. This direct backing shows how integral The Line is to national policy. New regulations are also being introduced to facilitate the project’s success: for example, Saudi Arabia is opening up real estate ownership to foreign investors in special economic zones like NEOM to spur outside investment. In the broader Vision 2030 context, The Line is meant to project a forward-looking image of the kingdom – showcasing sustainability, digital innovation, and luxury living – that can reposition Saudi Arabia as a global destination for business and tourism. As such, its progress (or setbacks) are often seen as bellwethers for the Vision 2030 agenda as a whole.

Progress and Status as of Q3 2025

Nearly five years since it was first announced, The Line has moved from concept drawings to one of the world’s largest construction sites. Construction progress is visible, especially at the core section of the city. Groundbreaking began in late 2021, and by October 2022 satellite imagery showed a continuous line of excavation stretching for kilometers across the desert. Major groundwork has since been underway: crews excavated millions of cubic meters of earth and began heavy foundation work for the mega-structure. By late 2023, NEOM officials reported that about 20% of the project’s essential infrastructure was complete – a claim that likely refers to groundwork like tunneling and utilities in the initial segments. At the heart of the construction is a section known as the Hidden Marina, envisioned as the first residential node of The Line. Work on this 1.5-mile (2.4 km) stretch – roughly Modules 40–50 of the city’s length – has been the top priority. Excavation at the Hidden Marina is in full swing, accompanied by what NEOM calls the largest piling operation in history to lay deep foundations for the mirrored walls. As of late 2024, nearly 1,000 of the planned 30,000+ foundation piles had already been driven into the ground, and concrete batching plants were being built to supply the enormous volume of “green concrete” needed for the structure. According to NEOM’s development chiefs, the site has been a hive of activity with tens of thousands of workers and 24/7 shifts preparing the ground for The Line’s vertical construction. Indeed, “going vertical” – i.e. starting to erect the towering walls – is the next major milestone. NEOM has indicated that above-ground construction for the initial sections will commence by late 2025, marking the transition from excavation to actually building the megastructure.

While work continues at a rapid clip, there have also been design revisions and timeline adjustments since the project’s inception. Originally, Saudi leadership had pitched an extremely aggressive schedule – with the entire 170 km city slated to be completed by 2030. This is no longer the case. Plans have been scaled back to a more realistic phased approach: current targets focus on finishing a 2.4 km pilot section by 2030, rather than the whole city. This initial segment (the Hidden Marina area) would host around 300,000 residents, a fraction of the 1.5 million originally hoped for by that date. Saudi officials have publicly denied that The Line is being downsized – insisting that the ultimate vision of 9 million residents is unchanged – but they acknowledge a longer timeline is needed to reach that goal. In practice, the strategy now is to deliver The Line in phases. The first phase (a few kilometers of the core city, including key amenities and a marina) is slated for completion by the end of this decade. Subsequent phases will extend the city further in both directions, with periodic targets set for new sections coming online through the 2030s and 2040s. Investment inflows have been ramping up to support this prolonged construction effort. The Saudi government, through PIF, remains the primary funder and has already poured tens of billions of dollars into NEOM’s development. By the end of 2024, PIF valued its investments in giga-projects (including NEOM) at 211 billion SAR (~$56 billion) – though notably it wrote down about $8 billion in value due to cost overruns and delays. The write-down in early 2025 was a reality check that even Saudi Arabia’s vast resources are being stretched by projects like The Line. Nevertheless, government support remains strong: in mid-2025 NEOM reiterated that The Line “remains a strategic priority,” even as it conducted internal reviews to optimize costs and timelines. On the investor front, Saudi Arabia has been courting foreign investment and expertise. Global architecture and engineering firms (from the UK’s Zaha Hadid Architects to U.S.-based AECOM and Bechtel) have been involved in design and project management, backed by contracts worth billions. The kingdom is also encouraging private sector involvement by allowing international buyers to purchase property in NEOM’s developments. New laws set to take effect by 2024–2025 will let foreigners own real estate in designated zones, and already some residences in NEOM’s resort areas have seen sales to U.S., European, and Asian investors in anticipation of those legal changes. This is significant because it signals a shift from NEOM being purely state-funded to becoming a magnet for outside capital – a critical step if the $500 billion-plus project is to be financially sustainable long term. In summary, as of Q3 2025 The Line is making concrete (literally, with new concrete factories) progress on the ground, though at a more measured pace and scope than initially advertised. Key pieces of the plan are being realized – foundations laid, infrastructure cores built – thanks to robust state support and early partner investments. However, the full vision remains decades away, and the next few years will be crucial in proving that this futuristic city can rise according to its revised schedule.

Timeline and Upcoming Milestones

To put The Line’s development into perspective, here are key milestones and anticipated deadlines on its roadmap:

• January 2021 – Launch: The Line was officially announced by Crown Prince MBS as the linchpin project of NEOM. The bold plan immediately captured global attention with promises of a zero-carbon city that would revolutionize urban living.

• Late 2021 – Groundbreaking: By October 2021, initial earthworks began on The Line. Surveys and preparatory construction started in the NW Saudi desert, and worker camps and equipment were mobilized on-site.

• 2022 – Excavation Accelerates: Throughout 2022, massive trenching and land grading took place. By October 2022, satellite images showed excavation along much of the 170 km route, effectively carving out the footprint for the linear city. This marked the project’s visible emergence from drawings to physical form.

• 2023 – Infrastructure Core and Piling: In 2023, focus turned to the Hidden Marina segment. Thousands of deep foundation piles were driven into the ground (over 4,500 piles in one section by early 2023) as the base for The Line’s enormous structural load. NEOM also began installing utility networks and high-speed rail tunnels under the first modules. By mid-2023, officials hinted that significant progress (about one-fifth of infrastructure) was achieved, building momentum toward vertical construction.

• Late 2024 – Factories and Verticals: In 2024, NEOM established large on-site concrete factories to supply construction, and over 30,000 total piles were planned for the foundation. By the end of 2024, with groundwork largely prepared for a central 5 km stretch, NEOM announced that the project would “go vertical” in 2025 – meaning cranes would start lifting steel and concrete to create the first above-ground sections of The Line’s walls. Also in late 2024, leadership changes occurred (a new CEO for NEOM was appointed) to drive the next phase with a focus on efficiency

• 2030 – First Phase Operational: Saudi Arabia now targets 2030 as the date by which the initial section of The Line will be completed and inhabited. This roughly 2.4–5 km central stretch (including the Hidden Marina neighborhood) is expected to be home to up to 300,000 residents and fully functional with homes, offices, retail, and leisure facilities. Notably, 2030 is the culmination year of Vision 2030, and also when Saudi Arabia will be on the global stage hosting Expo 2030 in Riyadh – adding pressure to showcase progress. The Line’s first phase, if successful, would be a proof of concept for the broader city.

• Early 2030s – Expansion and Global Events: After 2030, construction is slated to continue linearly outward. By 2034, Saudi Arabia plans to host FIFA World Cup matches in NEOM – reportedly in a futuristic “sky stadium” built atop The Line’s structure. This implies that by 2034, a substantial length of the city (with a sports stadium integrated 300+ meters in the air) would need to be completed. The project’s integration with such global events indicates key intermediate milestones: e.g. a segment containing the stadium by 2034, and supporting infrastructure like transport links from The Line to other city hubs by then.

• 2040 and Beyond – Full Completion: The entire 170 km city is now expected to take until around 2045 to fully realize. This extended timeline reflects the immense scale and engineering challenges. The mid-2030s through 2040s would see sequential development of remaining modules, eventually linking the Red Sea coast to the mountains as one continuous urban corridor. By the 2040s, if all goes to plan, The Line would reach its target capacity of 9 million residents and stand as a new paradigm in city-building. Phased openings will occur along the way – for instance, additional neighborhoods, an international airport at NEOM, and advanced industries (media hubs, biotech, tourism sites) are being launched in parallel to support the growing city.

It’s important to note that these timelines are ambitious and subject to change. Already the schedule has slipped from initial promises, and Saudi officials have introduced more gradual benchmarks (like the 5 km by 2030 goal) to manage expectations. Nonetheless, investors and observers are tracking these milestones closely. Each successful step – from hitting construction targets to attracting inaugural residents and businesses – will build confidence in The Line’s viability. Conversely, any major delays or missed deadlines could raise doubts, given the high-stakes nature of the project for Saudi Arabia’s reputation.

Challenges and Critical Concerns

Despite the grand vision and steady progress, The Line faces significant challenges and criticisms on multiple fronts. These range from engineering feasibility and financial sustainability to environmental impact and human rights issues:

• Feasibility and Cost: Skeptics question whether The Line’s futuristic features are achievable on the scale promised. The city’s design banks on technologies still in development – for example, ultra-high-speed transit, AI city management, and carbon-free infrastructure, all seamlessly integrated. Many of these innovations do not yet exist even in prototype form. Building a 500-meter-tall, 170-km long structure is itself an unprecedented engineering feat, requiring new construction techniques and materials. The cost of this endeavor is staggering: initial estimates put it around $100–200 billion, but more recent analyses suggest it could run into the hundreds of billions or even $1–2 trillion by completion. In fact, just the first 1.5-mile phase (Hidden Marina) is expected to cost about $140 billion. Such costs raise questions of economic return – can this city generate sufficient revenue or will it remain a subsidized vanity project? The Saudi government has deep pockets and is committed to subsidizing The Line (treating it as a catalyst for new economic sectors), but even the kingdom must contend with budget realities. In 2025, the PIF quietly wrote down $8 billion on its giga-project investments, acknowledging cost overruns and delays. This admission hints at internal reassessments of scope and timelines, presumably to prevent overspending. For investors, the sheer scale of required funding and uncertain path to profitability make The Line a high-risk, long-term bet. The question “Can it actually be built as envisioned?” looms large – even some architects involved have voiced doubts, with two high-profile architects withdrawing from the project citing concerns about its practicality and sustainability. Feasibility, both technical and financial, remains the foremost challenge as the project moves from concept to reality.

• Environmental Impact: Although The Line is marketed as eco-friendly (zero emissions, 100% renewable energy), critics argue that the project could harm the environment in practice. Constructing a megacity of this scale will require enormous quantities of steel, glass, and concrete – materials whose production carries a heavy carbon footprint. One expert calculated that building The Line as designed could emit around 1.8 gigatons of CO₂, due to the materials needed for its 500m-high mirrored walls and infrastructure. This ironic carbon cost of “building green” is a point of contention. Additionally, the continuous 170 km wall could act as a barrier to wildlife and disrupt animal migration patterns in the region. The mirrored exterior, while visually striking, may pose hazards to birds and other species (large mirrored buildings are known to confuse birds, leading to collisions). Environmental groups also highlight the strain on scarce water resources – sustaining 9 million people in a desert will require large-scale desalination and innovative water recycling, which come with ecological footprints. Saudi officials insist that 95% of the surrounding land is being preserved and that the latest sustainable technologies (like carbon capture in concrete, renewable energy, and circular waste systems) are being employed. Even so, the green credentials of The Line remain under scrutiny. A scientific analysis from the Complexity Science Hub Vienna noted that alternative urban layouts (like a circular city) could achieve similar population density with far less environmental disruption than a stretched linear form. This suggests that The Line’s very concept – a super-long city – might be less efficient environmentally than claimed, undermining the sustainability rationale behind it. Balancing the project’s huge resource requirements with its eco-friendly ambitions is thus a delicate challenge.

• Social and Human Rights Issues: The development of NEOM and The Line has raised human rights concerns that present both moral and reputational challenges. The project’s site in northwest Saudi Arabia was not empty desert – it was home to communities, notably the Huwaitat tribe, who have been forcibly displaced to make way for NEOM. This displacement turned tragic when several Huwaitat residents who protested were arrested; in 2020 one outspoken activist was reportedly killed by security forces, and in 2022 three members of the tribe were sentenced to death for refusing eviction. Such incidents cast a shadow over The Line’s narrative of a utopian future. Furthermore, building a mega-project of this scale in a short timeframe has drawn hundreds of thousands of migrant workers – primarily from South Asia and other developing regions – to what is now the world’s biggest construction zone. Labor rights organizations warn of potential exploitation and unsafe conditions. There are already reports of workers facing gruelling hours beyond legal limits, intense heat with inadequate protections, and delayed wages in some cases. In late 2023, a young Pakistani engineer died in an on-site accident when a safety barrier collapsed, and his family’s struggle for accountability was spotlighted as an example of how worker welfare can be neglected amid the rush to build. Human Rights groups like ALQST have documented this case and fear it may be the “tip of the iceberg” if robust safeguards are not enforced. The Line’s high-tech surveillance features also raise privacy concerns – with sensors and AI collecting vast data, some worry it could become a “surveillance city” where residents have little privacy, especially given Saudi Arabia’s track record on civil liberties. For investors and international partners, these human rights issues present a real reputational risk. Companies involved have faced criticism for abetting forced relocations or potentially benefiting from labor abuses. At least one Western company pulled out of NEOM in protest in 2022. Going forward, ensuring fair labor practices, safety, and community consent will be essential not just ethically but to maintain global support for the project.

• Geopolitical and Market Implications: The Line is as much a geopolitical statement as it is a development project. Saudi Arabia is using it to signal a new openness and ambition – aligning with global trends (like sustainability) while also outdoing regional rivals in scale. The project’s success or failure could influence Saudi’s standing on the world stage. If it thrives, it may bolster the kingdom’s bid to become a hub for innovation and mega-events. Already NEOM has landed the 2029 Asian Winter Games (to be held at its mountain resort Trojena) and is aiming for a role in the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Hosting these events in such futuristic settings could enhance Saudi’s soft power and attract millions of visitors. On the other hand, the sheer extravagance of The Line invites skepticism abroad, and any high-profile setbacks might reinforce doubts about the kingdom’s modernization drive. Economically, The Line must eventually appeal to businesses and residents beyond Saudi borders to meet its population and investment goals. This means the country’s broader political environment – social freedoms, legal system, and stability – will factor into The Line’s attractiveness. In recent years Saudi Arabia has enacted reforms (e.g. allowing women to drive, opening cinemas, easing certain restrictions) in part to make new cities like NEOM more liveable for expatriates. Still, some investors remain cautious. The shifting timeline and budget have introduced uncertainty; for example, when news broke that the project might be scaled back and delayed significantly, it was a “reality check” for those following Saudi’s Vision 2030 promises. Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s need to prioritize other infrastructure (like building stadiums and facilities for the World Cup) could divert focus and funds away from The Line in the short term. From a market perspective, NEOM will eventually compete with global business hubs (such as Dubai or Singapore) to attract talent and companies. Achieving the ultra-modern, livable environment it advertises – while avoiding becoming a dystopian white elephant – is crucial. This puts pressure on Saudi leaders to address the aforementioned challenges earnestly. In essence, the project’s fate is intertwined with Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical vision: to be seen not as an oil kingdom of the past, but as a technology and tourism powerhouse of the future. Any missteps in The Line’s execution could have outsized consequences for that narrative.

Conclusion

The Line embodies a grand convergence of idealism and ambition – it is at once an urban planner’s dream of sustainable living and a nation’s gambit to reinvent its economic future. Its long-term vision promises a city unlike any before: high-tech, eco-friendly, and hyper-modern, aligning perfectly with the transformative ethos of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. As of 2025, significant strides have been made in turning this vision into reality, from desert excavations to the first structural foundations. Yet the road (or rather, the line) ahead remains long and fraught with hurdles. The coming years will test whether the project’s bold promises can be fulfilled within the bounds of physics, finance, and social responsibility. For a general audience – and especially for investors – The Line offers a case study in high-risk, high-reward development. If it succeeds, it could redefine city-building, unlock new economic frontiers, and prove that sustainability and growth need not be at odds. If it falls short, it will serve as a cautionary tale about the limits of mega-projects and the importance of pragmatism in pursuit of utopia. In the meantime, the world watches as Saudi Arabia attempts to draw a line under its oil-dependent past and build a sustainable, diversified future – one 170-kilometer stretch of city at a time.

September 24, 2025, by a collective authors of MMCG Invest, LLC, (retail/hospitality/multi family/sba) feasibility study consultants.

Sources:

Official & Project Sources

• NEOM Official Website – Project descriptions, sustainability goals, and investor materials.

• Saudi Press Agency (SPA) – Government announcements on Vision 2030 and The Line’s milestones.

  
  

Major International Media Outlets

• BBC News – Coverage of The Line’s vision, design, and progress (e.g., mirrored skyscrapers, sustainability goals).

• The Guardian – Critical reporting on feasibility, costs, and environmental impact.

• Financial Times – Analysis of Saudi Arabia’s investment strategies, PIF financing, and market implications.

• Bloomberg – Updates on construction progress, funding challenges, and revised deadlines.

• CNBC – Coverage of Saudi mega-projects and scaling down of The Line’s first-phase targets.

• CNN – News reports on The Line’s futuristic urban design and international reactions.

Regional and Industry Press

• Arab News – Local updates on NEOM’s hiring, milestones, and foreign investment rules.

• Al Jazeera – Reporting on human rights issues (forced displacement of tribes, labor conditions).

• MEED (Middle East Economic Digest) – Project finance, contracts, and construction updates.

• Construction Week Middle East – Technical details on excavation, piling, and concrete operations.

  
  

Academic & Expert Commentary

• Complexity Science Hub Vienna (CSH) – Study analyzing the environmental impact and efficiency of linear vs. circular urban models.

• Human Rights Watch (HRW) / ALQST – Reports on displacement of the Huwaitat tribe and labor conditions.

  
  

Supplementary

• Satellite imagery reports – Independent analysis of excavation and site progress (e.g., Cision PR Newswire, Middle East Eye).

• Company statements – AECOM, Bechtel, Zaha Hadid Architects, and other firms engaged in NEOM design and project management.