The ambitious development of Saudi Arabia 500b ‘Line’ is receiving a reality control – and going under a microscope

Saudi Arabia’s plan to build a reflected city “Landscraper” is now under the microscope.

The rich Middle Eastern country is trying to build a 105 -mile longer city city longer than the Empire State Building, but there may be a forward recalibration. The kingdom recently fired consultants to review the feasibility of their futuristic plans, the interior told Bloomberg.

The line was announced in 2017 as a Zero-Carbon city built between two glass skyscrapers. The lean metropolis, located in the northwestern Saudi Arabia, was created to set up 1,600 meters high and accommodate 9 million people.

SCI-Fi-like rankings show tower networks, crossings, an artificial river, hanging greenery and a high-end-end rail. The less car metropolis, less by the road, will cost about $ 500 billion.

High -scale line infrastructure and high -tech surveillance infrastructure generated controversy from the beginning. The country’s economic minister reaffirmed his ambitious deadline of 2030 between public review last year, but external experts have proposed deadlines for nearly five decades.

The line is just part of a hyper-frantist desert complex called neom. The widespread development project, founded by the cash registers of Sovran Sovereign Property Fund, plays in the vision of Saudi Arabia 2030-An attempt to remove its economy away from dependence on oil returns.

A country of public investment unit, forcibly intercepted counseling firms to take a look at the line, with a possible eye to cost and feasibility.

Neom, in a state in Bloomberg, stressed that strategic reviews of great development are common.

“The line remains a strategic advantage and neom has focused on maintaining operational continuity, improving efficiency and accelerating progress to match the overall vision and project objectives,” the statement said.

But the measure comes between a global control of the radical infrastructure agenda of the rich country and pressures for public finances. The ambitious project of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman was set up at a time when the country was in better financial condition. The Saudi budget deficit increased in 2024 as the price of oil fell under what was needed to balance its budget.

While neom and line can process as planned, it is possible that this strategic summary will result in a smaller scale and a longer period of time.

Job cuts are currently planned across Neom, an anonymous consultant for CNBC.

But whether the cost proves or not too high, or very ambitious technology, the work goes on. The line construction area is currently painted with cranes, pile drivers, a new road and tracks for a high -speed rail system.