The Line, NEOM: A Global Vision for the Cities of Tomorrow

Jun 19, 2025

A revolutionary urban development called "The Line" is presently being developed inside Saudi Arabia's extensive desert territory to challenge traditional city designs.

The $500 billion NEOM project has “The Line” as its central component, with the mission of developing a model future city through advanced technology and sustainable design.

Key Statistics and Features

The Line is a vertical city where you can live, work and play without needing a car, contributing to a zero carbon footprint and a high quality of life. Here are some highlights:

How Long is the Line Neom: 170 kilometres (105 miles)
Height: 500 meters (1,640 feet)
Width: 200 meters (656 feet)
Projected Population: 9 million inhabitants
Area: 34 square kilometres (13 square miles)
Design: Two parallel, mirror-clad skyscrapers create a linear city
Transportation: High-speed rail allowing end-to-end travel in 20 minutes
Energy: Powered completely by renewable energy sources
Accessibility: All necessary services are within a five-minute walk
Environmental Goal: Maintain 95% of NEOM's natural landscape

Sustainability and Innovation

Sustainability and technological advancement serve as fundamental design principles of The Line.

Zero Emissions: The city is designing its operations to use only renewable energy sources, from solar power, wind power and green hydrogen generation.
Smart Infrastructure: An underground network of urban infrastructure facilities and transportation systems to boost operational efficiency and inhabitability.
AI Integration: Electronic systems controlled by artificial intelligence will manage all urban operations, starting from utility management to waste disposal systems.

Economic and Social Impact

The Line stands as more than a conventional urban centre, as it functions as an economic tool that generates employment opportunities and enhances sectoral variety:

Job Creation: The development project is expected to create 380,000 new jobs throughout different economic sectors.
Economic Contribution: According to projections, the economic sector will produce SAR 180 billion for Saudi Arabia's GDP by the year 2030.
Innovation Hub: The Innovation Hub welcomes international talent for developing technological progress, sustainable practices and urban development strategies.

Read more on: Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.

Current Progress and Challenges

While “The Line” is a big idea, it has many challenges:

Construction Delays: As of 2025, only a tiny bit will be done by 2030, and 1% of the construction will be finished.
Financial Constraints: The scale of the project has forced a re-evaluation of timelines and goals.
First Phase Development: The Hidden Marina is the first phase of The Line that will be home to 200,000 people.

Final Thoughts

The Line is a symbol of human dreams and innovative urban planning. Future urban development schemes take inspiration from the innovative structure and sustainability principles of The Line. The project will succeed only after overcoming major financial and logistical hurdles. People observe the progress of The Line construction to determine if it will set an urban development benchmark or exist only as an imaginary project.