Saudi Arabia’s $500B ‘The Line’ project is under review

Saudi Arabia’s plan to build a mirrored “landscraper” city is now under the microscope.

The wealthy Middle Eastern country is endeavoring to build a 105-mile linear city taller than the Empire State Building, but there may be recalibrations ahead. The kingdom recently tapped consultants to review the feasibility of their futuristic plans, insiders told Bloomberg.

The Line was announced in 2017 as a zero-carbon city built between two glass skyscrapers. The lean metropolis, located in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern desert, is designed to rise 1,600 feet high and house 9 million people. 

Sci-fi-like renderings show networks of towers, walkways, an artificial river, hanging greenery and an end-to-end high speed rail. The car-less, road-less metropolis will cost an estimated $500 billion. 

The Line’s sheer scale and high-tech surveillance infrastructure generated controversy from the beginning. The country’s economic minister reaffirmed its ambitious 2030 completion deadline amid public scrutiny last year, but outside experts have proposed timelines closer to five decades.

The Line is just one piece of a hyper-futuristic desert complex called Neom. The sprawling development project, funded from the coffers of Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich sovereign wealth fund, plays into Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 — an effort to move its economy away from dependency on oil revenues.

A unit of the country’s public investment fund recently tapped consulting firms to take a look at plans for The Line, with a likely eye towards cost and feasibility.

Neom, in a statement to Bloomberg, pointed out that strategic reviews of large developments are commonplace.

“The Line remains a strategic priority and Neom is focused on maintaining operational continuity, improving efficiencies and accelerating progress to match the overall vision and objectives of the project,” the statement said.

But the move comes amid global scrutiny of the wealthy country’s radical infrastructure agenda and pressures on public finances. The ambitious pet project of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was pitched at a time when the country was on better financial footing. The Saudi budget deficit grew in 2024 as the price of oil fell below what was needed to balance its budget.

While Neom and The Line could proceed as planned, it’s possible that this strategic review will result in a smaller scale and a longer timeline. 

Job cuts are currently planned across Neom, one anonymous consultant told CNBC.

But whether or not the cost proves too high, or the technology too ambitious, the work continues. The construction site of The Line is currently dotted with cranes, pile drivers, a new road and tracks for a high-speed rail system.