NEOM is known for its ambitious projects, but has The Line proven to be too ambitious to reach completion?
With a number of reports on the progress (or lack thereof), Saudi Arabia’s walled city has come under scrutiny yet again for having unrealistic targets…
When Saudi Arabia unveiled The Line in 2021, the megacity was positioned as the crown jewel of NEOM – the $500 billion, futurist region at the heart of Vision 2030. The original concept was audacious: a mirrored city extending 170km through the desert, 500m high and 200m wide, designed to house nine million residents and eliminate cars, emissions, and sprawling infrastructure altogether. It promised a radically new way to live, plan, and experience urban life.
Five years on, The Line is still making headlines, but its execution, design planning, and physical progress tells a story of unrealistic ambitions and lack of investment. So, is this the end of The Line – or is there still hope for the giga-project?
What progress has been made on The Line so far?
On the ground in northwest Saudi Arabia, construction has indeed begun – though not at the scale or speed first imagined. What has materialised most visibly is earthworks, trenching, and piling: deep foundations being laid along segments of the stretch where The Line is planned. Multiple reports in 2024 noted that over 120 foundation piles were being installed weekly, making it one of the largest piling operations globally.
At the same time, NEOM had begun systematic neighbourhood planning and design work for the first phase. A consortium of world-class partners – including Delugan Meissl Associate Architects (DMAA), Gensler, and Mott MacDonald – were appointed to lead urban design, planning, and engineering, with DMAA specifically tasked with evolving a vertically organised, three-dimensional masterplan to challenge conventional city formats.
Yet when observers visit the site or scrutinise satellite imagery, the vertical, glass-walled city remains largely unrealised outside isolated, preparatory works. Beyond foundational trenches and earth movement, very little vertical superstructure is apparent in areas beyond specific pilot zones such as the ‘Hidden Marina’.
