It sounds like something straight out of a Philip K. Dick novel or a high-budget sci-fi flick. A city built in a perfectly straight line, 170 kilometers long, encased in mirrors, with absolutely no cars and zero carbon emissions. When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first announced THE LINE as the centerpiece of the $500 billion NEOM project, the internet basically had a collective meltdown. Some called it a visionary masterpiece; others called it an ecological nightmare or a literal pipe dream. But here we are in 2026, and the dust—quite literally—is settling in the Tabuk province.
If you’ve been following the headlines, you know the narrative has shifted a lot lately.
The project isn't just a rendered image on a sleek website anymore. Satellite imagery shows massive trenches being carved into the desert. Thousands of workers are on-site. However, the scale of the "Saudi Arabia linear city" has faced some pretty heavy reality checks recently. While the original goal was to have 1.5 million people living in this silver mirror by 2030, current reports, including some leaked by Bloomberg, suggest that number might be closer to 300,000 for the initial phase.
It’s complicated. It’s expensive. And honestly, it’s the most ambitious piece of civil engineering since the pyramids.
The Design Philosophy: Why a Line?
Most cities grow like ink blots. They start at a center—usually a port or a market—and bleed outward in messy, congested circles. This creates the "urban sprawl" we all hate: long commutes, smog, and those soul-crushing suburban strip malls. NEOM’s planners decided to flip the script. By stacking the city vertically (they call this Zero Gravity Urbanism) and stretching it in a line, they claim they can preserve 95% of the surrounding nature.
Basically, you’ve got two massive mirror-faced buildings running parallel.
Between them? A climate-controlled utopia.
The idea is that everything you need—groceries, work, schools, parks—is within a five-minute walk. If you need to go further, a high-speed rail sits tucked away in the basement, designed to whisk you from one end of the city to the other in 20 minutes. No cars. No roads. No gas stations. It’s a bold middle finger to 20th-century urban planning.
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The Physics of Living in a Mirror
There are some serious questions about how a 500-meter-tall mirrored wall affects the local ecosystem. Critics like those from the Max Planck Institute have raised concerns about bird migrations. If you’re a bird flying across the desert, a 100-mile-long mirror is basically an invisible wall. NEOM says they’re working on "mitigation strategies," but the sheer physics of thermal expansion on a structure this size is enough to give any structural engineer a migraine.
The heat is another thing. Saudi Arabia isn't exactly chilly. While the mirrors are supposed to reflect sunlight, the "canyon effect" between the two walls could potentially trap heat if the ventilation isn't perfect. The planners are relying on natural wind movement and "micro-climatic spaces" to keep it comfortable. It’s a high-stakes bet on fluid dynamics.
The Economic Engine Behind the Mirrors
You can't talk about the Saudi Arabia linear city without talking about the money. This is the crown jewel of Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s massive plan to stop being a "gas station" for the world and start being a global tech hub.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is dumping hundreds of billions into this.
But why?
It’s about "Cognitive Cities." NEOM isn't just supposed to be a place to live; it’s designed to be a data-driven laboratory. They want to use AI to manage everything from waste disposal to water usage. By 2026, we’re seeing the first real tech partnerships rolling in. We’re talking about massive green hydrogen plants—like the NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) joint venture—which aims to be the world's largest utility-scale hydrogen facility.
The goal is to export clean energy to Europe and Asia, using the city itself as a living showroom for the technology.
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Reality Check: The 2024-2025 Scale-Back
Let's get real for a second. Building a 170km city all at once is borderline impossible, even with Saudi oil money.
Recent updates indicate that the "initial modules" of THE LINE are the current focus. Instead of the full 170km stretch, the focus is on a 2.4-kilometer segment that will be completed by 2030. Is it a retreat? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just pragmatic construction. Even a 2.4km mirrored city would be a world wonder.
Finance experts have pointed out that the PIF’s cash reserves have fluctuated. With other massive projects like the Mukaab in Riyadh and the 2034 World Cup preparations, the Kingdom has to prioritize. You’ve probably seen the "NEOM is running out of money" clickbait. That’s an exaggeration, but the "unlimited budget" era has definitely evolved into a "let’s be strategic" era.
What it Feels Like on the Ground
If you visited the site today, you wouldn't see a gleaming city. You’d see the world's largest construction site.
The "Hidden Marina" is one of the first big excavations. They are literally digging a hole big enough for cruise ships to sail into the side of a mountain. It sounds insane because it is. But the scale of the machinery out there is staggering. We’re talking about thousands of heavy vehicles moving millions of cubic meters of earth every month.
The labor force is another point of intense scrutiny. Human rights organizations like ALQST have raised serious concerns about the displacement of the Howeitat tribe, who have lived in the Tabuk region for generations. This is the "dark side" of the futuristic vision that often gets glossed over in the glossy PR videos. It’s a reminder that "blank slates" for new cities are rarely actually blank.
Is THE LINE Actually Sustainable?
The "green" credentials of a Saudi Arabia linear city are a major selling point. Zero cars? Great. 100% renewable energy? Amazing.
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But then there's the "embodied carbon."
Making that much steel, glass, and concrete creates a massive carbon footprint before the first resident even moves in. Philip Oldfield, a professor at the University of New South Wales, argued that the construction of THE LINE could produce upwards of 1.8 gigatonnes of CO2. That’s more than the annual emissions of the UK.
NEOM’s team counters this by saying the long-term efficiency of the city will eventually offset the construction costs. It’s a classic "spend carbon to save carbon" argument. Whether the math actually works out is something scientists will be debating for decades.
How to Track Progress (and What to Look For)
If you're interested in the Saudi Arabia linear city, don't just look at the official NEOM YouTube channel. It’s all cinematic music and CGI.
- Watch the Satellite Feeds: Sites like Sentinel Hub show the actual trench progress. If the "line" stops growing, you know there's a delay.
- Follow the Tenders: Keep an eye on the construction companies winning contracts. Firms like Webuild (Italy) and various South Korean giants are the ones actually pouring the concrete.
- The 2029 Asian Winter Games: Saudi Arabia is hosting these at Trojena, a mountain destination within NEOM. This is a hard deadline. If the infrastructure for Trojena isn't ready by 2028, the whole NEOM timeline is in jeopardy.
Actionable Takeaways for the Curious
NEOM is no longer a "maybe." It is a "happening," albeit at a different pace than originally marketed. If you’re looking at this from a business, travel, or tech perspective, here’s how to approach it:
- Investment & Careers: If you're in renewable energy, AI, or modular construction, NEOM is currently one of the largest employers of international consultants. The project is hungry for talent that can solve "impossible" engineering problems.
- Travel Planning: Don’t book a ticket for THE LINE just yet. However, Sindalah—NEOM's luxury island resort—is slated to be the first physical manifestation of the project to open to tourists. It's the "test run" for NEOM's hospitality.
- Real Estate Reality: While you can’t "buy an apartment" in THE LINE the way you would in Dubai quite yet, the surrounding regions in Tabuk are seeing a massive shift in value.
- Stay Skeptical but Informed: Distinguish between the "vision" (the 170km mirror) and the "reality" (the phased construction of urban modules). The project will likely look very different in 2030 than the initial drawings, but its impact on urban design theory is already permanent.
The Saudi Arabia linear city is a bet on the future of humanity's footprint on Earth. Whether it becomes a shimmering monument to sustainability or a cautionary tale of overreach depends entirely on the next four years of engineering execution. It's a massive, expensive, and polarizing experiment that the world literally cannot afford to ignore.