Posted on Jul 29, 2022 12:26 pm
Saudi Arabia: The design of the Pharaonic city of Mohammed bin Salman revealed
Ahead of his visit to France, the Crown Prince revealed many aspects of the crazy ambitions of the 170-kilometer mirror metropolis.
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The July 25 vision of The Line, a multi-hundred-billion-dollar flagship project by Mohammed bin Salman.
DR
The July 25 vision of The Line, a multi-hundred-billion-dollar flagship project by Mohammed bin Salman.
DR
The July 25 vision of The Line, a multi-hundred-billion-dollar flagship project by Mohammed bin Salman.
DR
Saudi Arabia’s futuristic NEOM mega-city will stretch 170 kilometers and house two massive mirror-covered skyscrapers, according to the new plans unveiled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, raising doubts about the project’s economic feasibility and setting to have.
Dubbed “The Line”, the two huge, parallel, 500-meter-tall skyscrapers will form the center of the Red Sea city, the multi-hundred-billion-dollar flagship project of Mohammed bin Salman, de facto ruler of the kingdom seeking the oil country’s economy to diversify.
With its flying taxis and household robots, NEOM has been making a lot of noise since it was first announced in 2017, even as architects and economists have questioned the feasibility.
Initially, NEOM presented itself as the regional “Silicon Valley”, a 26,500 square kilometer biotechnology and digital hub.
Even more ambitious
But during Monday night’s presentation of “The Line,” the prince outlined an even more ambitious vision, describing a utopian city without cars, the most livable “on the entire planet.”
The idea is to rethink urban life in an area of just 34 square kilometers to respond to “viability and environmental crises,” he added, sparking renewed skepticism from some.
“The concept has evolved so much since it was originally conceived that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint its direction,” comments Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
The authorities have in the past given the figure of one million inhabitants in NEOM.
Target 9 million inhabitants
The crown prince has now set the benchmark for 1.2 million people by 2030 and nine million by 2045, and has bet on a demographic boom that he says is necessary to make Saudi Arabia an all-round competitive economy.
The national goal is to reach 100 million residents by 2040, “almost 30 million Saudis and 70 million or more foreigners,” compared to around 34 million residents today, Mohammed bin Salman said.
“This is the main interest of the construction of NEOM: to increase the capacity (demographic, note) of Saudi Arabia (…). And since we’re doing it from scratch, why copy normal cities?”
Only 200 meters wide
Measuring just 200 meters wide, The Line, modeled on Zero Gravity Urbanism, must respond to uncontrolled and polluting urban sprawl by overlaying homes, schools and parks.
Residents have access to “all daily necessities” within a five-minute walk, as well as other facilities such as outdoor ski slopes and “a high-speed train with an end-to-end journey (from the city) of 20 minutes,” the in said the press release published on Monday.
NEOM is also expected to be subject to its own law, which is being drafted, but Saudi officials have already said they have no plans to end the kingdom’s alcohol ban.
carbon neutral
Another challenge for NEOM: to deliver on the country’s environmental promises, which – without convincing environmental defenders – have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
According to a promotional video released Monday, the site will be powered entirely by renewable energy and will feature “a year-round temperate microclimate with natural ventilation.”
NEOM is well positioned to capitalize on solar and wind power, and the city will host the world’s largest green hydrogen plant, notes Torbjorn Soltvedt of consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft. “But the feasibility of NEOM as a whole is unclear given the unprecedented scale and cost of the project.”
A first phase at $319 billion
The cost of the “first phase,” which will last until 2030, is estimated at 1,200 billion Saudi riyals (about $319 billion), according to Prince Mohammed.
In addition to government grants, funds are expected to come from the private sector and NEOM’s planned IPO in 2024.
Funding remains a potential challenge, even if the current context of rising oil prices is more favorable for the kingdom than it was during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, “funding is only part of the equation,” Robert Mogielnicki points out.
“The demand is harder to buy, especially when you ask people to take part in an experiment about living and working in the future.”
(AFP)