Saudi Arabia Excavates Massive Holes to Build The Line, its Futuristic City

Trucks by the hundreds, tons of earth cleared, and nearly 140,000 workers: the latest images of the work on The Line and other Neom projects are impressive. The region published a summary video of the latest progress of the work on YouTube on May 22, 2024. We can see that the excavations on the route of the linear city The Line continue, and seem to be even more massive than before. The video also takes stock of other projects in progress, such as the Trojena ski resort, the floating city Oxagon, and the luxury island Sindalah.

The Line

The Line is the spearhead of Neom, the region in the northwest of the country which hosts many projects that aim to be futuristic. The city, which promises to be dystopian, must take the form of two immense buildings built in a straight line over a length of 170 km, spaced 200 meters apart, and 500 meters high.

The work, which began in October 2022, is still in progress. We can see in the video that an impressive number of trucks and cranes are at work – the work is nevertheless still at the foundation stage, and no walls have been laid. The video, however, attempts to reassure: “ work is progressing quickly ”, we are assured. However, the latter would encounter difficulties: the city, which was to be completed in 2030, should ultimately not be finished and should only be 2.4 km long by that date.

Trojena

We don't just see the work of The Line in the video: the progress of the construction of Trojena is also discussed. This is also a disproportionate project: Trojena is to be a ski resort, which is supposed to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. A huge artificial lake must also be completed. For the moment, we mainly see vehicles clearing earth on the site – the first hotels and the station are however due to open in 2026.

Oxagon

Concerning Oxagon, few images are visible in the video. Oxagon must be a major hub of Neom: it is a city project, an industrial and logistics center and a floating city. For the moment, however, no buildings or floating structures can be seen. However, the construction of the port seems to be going well: we can see that 2 huge ships are already docked.

Sindalah

The luxury island of Sindalah is the most advanced project. Many buildings have emerged from the ground, and appear to be almost finished. Sindalah, which is to host numerous luxury hotels and golf courses, was primarily designed as a destination for ultra-rich yacht owners. The island is due to welcome the first visitors as early as 2024 — it makes sense that this is the place where work is most advanced. However, there is already a delay: the first hotels were supposed to open their doors in early 2024.

Construction continues despite financing problems

In addition to the work in progress, the video also informs that other research projects are being carried out. The video cites autonomous cars interchangeably, “ laboratory-grown seafood and fish », or even electric gliders.

The main purpose of the video is to show that the work continues, and to put an end to the newspapers that have announced unrest. In addition to the delay in the construction of The Line, Saudi Arabia is reportedly encountering financing problems: the kingdom has been forced to borrow several hundred million dollars, and is seeking Chinese investment.

But these searches for financing could be disrupted by new accusations of violence against the regime: according to a BBC investigation, the government would have given authorization to the army to dislodge opponents of the project using the force, and even killing. There was reportedly one death as a result, and 5 other people were sentenced to death.