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With promises to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and revolutionize global urbanism, Saudi Arabia's futuristic megacity called The Line is under construction in the desert. But what has come to fruition by 2025? See the progress, delays and what is still just a billion-dollar dream.
Announced in 2021 as one of the biggest urban restructuring projects in modern history, The Line is part of the NEOM project, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The proposal is ambitious: a futuristic megacity in Saudi Arabia measuring 170 kilometers long, with zero carbon emissions, no roads, no cars and a 500-meter-high mirrored wall, housing up to 9 million people.
The city, according to its creators, will be entirely powered by renewable energy sources, and internal mobility will be done by an ultra-fast underground train which will connect end to end in just 20 minutes. The buildings form a single longitudinal structure, with residential, commercial and even vertical forest areas.
But four years after the announcement, what has actually been built Saudi Arabian megacity in 2025?
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What's been done so far: Only 2,4 miles of The Line are expected to be completed by 2030
By 2025, The Line’s status is well below its original plan. The first phase of the project, called Hidden Marina, is under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2030. This initial stretch will be 2,4 km long and will house around 200 people. A far cry from the 1,5 million residents promised by the end of the decade.
Despite this, construction is in full swing. An estimated 140 workers are involved in building Saudi Arabia’s futuristic megacity. More than 1.000 foundation piles have already been installed, and 120 new ones are being added every week.
The demand for materials is so colossal that the project already consumes about 20% of the steel available in the world. The impact of this demand creates significant logistical and environmental challenges, with thousands of tons of glass, concrete and iron being transported to the Saudi desert every day.
Schedule pushed back: from 2030 to 2045 — or even 2080
The original promise was ambitious: to have the 170 km of The Line ready by 2030. However, with the slow progress and difficulties in execution, the creators themselves have admitted that this goal is unrealistic. Now, the new target is 2045 — and some say that the realistic deadline would only be 2080.
We also pack any The cost of The Line has been revised to US$8,8 trillion, which represents more than 25 times the annual budget of Saudi Arabia. This raises questions about the viability of the project, even with the country's huge sovereign wealth fund.
Utopian or dystopian design? The technical and environmental challenges of The Line
One of the main obstacles to the project has been the design itself. Mohammed bin Salman has rejected proposals to reduce the height of the city from the current 500 meters to a more viable model. He insists on maintaining the radical aesthetic of vertical mirrored walls, which generates technical and environmental complications:
- Overheating of the environment: Giant mirrored structures can create thermal lensing effects and affect local weather.
- Interference in ecosystems: experts point out that construction can change animal migration patterns, damage dunes and destroy natural habitats.
- Disconnection with the surroundings: By eliminating streets and windows to the skyline, critics say The Line could become a “luxury vertical prison".
Even with state support, the project has received increasing skepticism of the international community and renowned urban planners.
Life on The Line: sustainable utopia or glass nightmare?
The proposal of the Saudi Arabian megacity is to sell a more efficient, clean and integrated life: a five-minute walk to any basic service, high-speed underground transport, no emissions and coexistence in communities connected by artificial intelligence.
However, critics and recent visitors point out that the real scenario is still far from the futuristic animations broadcast by Saudi media. Influencers who visited the development areas showed unfinished construction sites, a lack of greenery and initial structures that fall far short of expectations.
For many, the idea of living inside a 500-meter glass wall, with no streets or windows to the horizon, may not be as appealing as it sounds. Some analysts describe the proposal as an urban utopia with traces of digitalized dystopia, where constant surveillance and the absence of urban spontaneity can transform the experience into something claustrophobic.
Environmental and social impacts: the controversy behind the construction
The construction of The Line has not been without controversy. Human rights organizations have reported the forced displacement of local communities, especially traditional peoples living in the region where the project is being developed.
Environmentalists warn of the risks of thermal pollution, excessive use of scarce natural resources (such as water) and severe changes to the desert landscape, one of the most fragile on the planet. The massive use of steel and glass also contradicts the sustainability discourse, especially considering the carbon footprint of manufacturing and transporting these materials.
We also pack any the Saudi regime is accused of using the NEOM project — and The Line — as a smokescreen to “wash” its international image, especially after criticism involving women's rights, political repression and episodes such as the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
What is Hidden Marina? First section that can be completed
Amid delays and skepticism, one stretch in particular has made progress: Hidden Marina, the first functional stretch of The Line. At 2,5 km long, it is expected to feature:
- Residences for 200 thousand people
- Football stadiums (including a possible venue for the 2034 World Cup)
- Leisure centers, hotels and underground transport stations
Hidden Marina is seen as the showcase project, the section that should demonstrate to the world the viability of Saudi Arabia's futuristic megacity. If it is delivered on schedule, it could help restore some of the project's credibility.
In 2025, Saudi Arabia’s megacity called The Line remains much more of an idea than a solid reality. With only 2,4 km planned for completion by 2030, schedule delays and technical and environmental challenges still unresolved, the project is far from delivering what it promised in its ambitious original proposal.
Even so, the billion-dollar mobilization, the number of workers involved and the global impact of the project ensure that it will remain on the international radar — as a symbol of what urbanism of the future could be, or of what can go wrong when ambition exceeds viability.
What can be said with certainty is that The Line remains one of the most impressive (and controversial) works currently underway in the world. Whether it will be completed as planned, or join the list of unfinished megaprojects, only time will tell.
