It is in the northwest of the Saudi desert that the titanic NEOM project is taking place. The construction of the gigantic megalopolis called “The Line”, an intelligent and ecological city. Construction is progressing, and Neom shows the progress of his company.
The initiative almost falls into the realm of science fiction because it seems so unrealistic: the construction of a pharaonic megalopolis of 26,000 m2 to more than 500 billion dollars. The NEOM project, announced in 2017, seems to be making great strides. The idea of creating a city in the middle of the desert is already a utopia (or a dystopia depending on your point of view). But imagining that it will be a “smart” city with low carbon emissions and powered by intelligence could almost be considered a joke. And yet, NEOM clearly shows that the construction of The Line is progressing, in a video published on October 11 (see bottom of article).
The construction site in action
In the promotional video offered by NEOM, everything seems to be going perfectly. A ballet of excavators are busy digging the sand, the engineers observe from a distance and the workers work with smiles on their faces, all to a background of epic music. Let’s keep it real, this is just a video shot by the promoter himself. However, it cannot be denied that the project has progressed enormously since last year. While there were only crevasses, we can now see the first traces of buildings, fields of solar panels and industrial buildings.
NEOM and Saudi Arabia’s post-oil future
In addition to The Line, the video also reveals a colossal special economic zone project. This is part of the “Vision 2030” initiative: or how to ensure the survival of the country when oil reserves are exhausted. Certainly, NEOM is a key player in the transformation of the country’s economic model, which is built exclusively on the monetization of its oil deposits. Other economic sectors are currently in development to ensure their future: information technologies, tourism or manufacturing industry. NEOM is therefore expected to become a hub of capital importance.
Other projects are also integrated into this disproportionate undertaking. An industrial port, a floating city, the Oxagon center of “clean” industries or even Sindalah, a luxury artificial island located in the middle of the Red Sea intended for wealthy tourists. It will also be possible to ski in Trojena, a resort built in the high mountains. Dizzying, and rather absurd.
At the moment, The Line is almost a ghost town with very few residents inhabiting it. But it will be able to accommodate 9 million people when it is completed. Saudi Arabia has a very particular vision of environmental issues, and NEOM is the perfect symptom. About NEOM, the geographer Alain Musset explained in 2022: “ a project of this type only widens the divide between the wealthiest and the others; this utopia, like almost all utopias, will turn out to be a dystopia “.
Sources: Youtube, Numerama
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