The Line is an exciting development within NEOM that will eliminate the need for roads and cars while using clean energy.

1. Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in real estate in its capital city of Riyadh and beyond.
To the excitement of many investors and Saudi nationals, the Kingdom has begun
developing several new urban centers, including NEOM, which is set to become the
world’s first fully connected smart development. One of the development’s flagship
projects is The Line, a city that will overlook both the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea
while incorporating an area that is more than 30 times that of New York City. The city
will stretch for 105 miles through the heart of NEOM. With construction on The Line
already underway, project leaders say that the city could be open to both tourists and
residents by the early part of 2024.
What You Need to Know about The Line and its Potential Impact
NEOM as a project is a massive undertaking for Saudi Arabia and one of the Kingdom’s
giga-projects that is creating the most buzz. Already, much of the territory that will
become NEOM is under construction or earth is being moved to create entirely new
regions. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced NEOM in 2017, and the
project has become a central part of Vision 2030, which is the Kingdom’s effort to
diversify its economy away from oil. Within this project, The Line will encompass a
string of hyper-connected communities. The vision for this project does not include
streets or vehicles to create what will become a carbon-positive urban environment
that is powered entirely by clean energy.
Since The Line is a development that will not include cars, it is capable of preserving
about 95 percent of nature within NEOM’s boundaries. The plan will ensure that
residents can walk to key services, such as clinics and schools, in five minutes or less.
However, The Line will also include ultra-high-speed transit and autonomous
transportation to facilitate longer distances. This is possible through a layered plan for
the city. The top layer will be only for pedestrians, while two subterranean levels will
contain infrastructure and high-speed transportation. The entire project is divided into
four regions with a maximum commute of 20 minutes to get anywhere within The Line.
This transportation will help develop the remote northwest of the Red Sea coast, with
the additional hope of developing new tech hubs.
The Line as a Model for the Future of Sustainable Development
On top of this, NEOM has pledged to become the most competitive free zone in the
world. Saudi Arabia has deemed NEOM a semi-independent free zone, which means it
will have its own laws and regulations, as well as authority through a semi-government.
Thus, residents of The Line will have considerable control over how the rest of NEOM
develops. This is important considering that The Line has the potential to redefine
urban living and provide a blueprint for cities coexisting with nature.

2. According to some estimates, about 1 billion people will need to relocate by 2050 due to
rising sea levels and carbon dioxide emissions. Already, about 90 percent of people on
the planet breathe polluted air. Sacrificing nature for the sake of development will
eventually have to end before the entire planet becomes uninhabitable. The Line
provides a solution for existing within nature without polluting it. If further
development, including the rest of NEOM, follows in its footsteps, the planet’s life can be
extended while also improving the quality of living. After all, there are not many places
on Earth where people can walk to virtually all the services they need. Moreover, The
Line eliminates the dangers of driving to help preserve lives, and the high-speed transit
helps people reclaim time to focus more on their wellbeing.
The Immediate Benefits of The Line for the Saudi Economy
In the short term, The Line is also beneficial for Saudi Arabia’s economy. The city is
projected to create 380,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia, and the entirety of the NEOM project
will comprise about $500 billion in investment from the Kingdom. Once The Line is
completed, experts project that it will contribute about $48 billion to the Saudi
economy. This number is remarkable considering that The Line will be the first urban
development in 150 years that is not designed around roads, which limits the
transportation of goods. However, by creating hidden infrastructure and providing
ultra-high-speed transportation, goods can move in a way that does not put the
wellbeing of residents at risk.
In general, the construction of The Line and NEOM has been progressing despite the
setbacks of the pandemic. The first NEOM hotel is expected to be open by the end of
2022, with about 15 more planned to open between 2023 and 2025. The Line will likely
begin accepting residents and tourists within two years, so now is a great time for
investors to get involved as the project promises to provide a roadmap to sustainable
development for decades to come.