Infrastructure work has begun on Saudi Arabia’s revolutionary zero carbon ‘The Line,’ a 170-km-long strip which will form the backbone of the kingdom’s futuristic $500-billion development Neom, said a top official.

Located on the Red Sea coast in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, Neom is set to be totally powered by renewable energy sources.

“Today if you go to Neom you will see construction all over, you will see earthworks going on, you will see regions that are being developed,” stated Nadhmi Al Nasr, CEO of Neom, while speaking to Bloomberg. “It is expected to be ready for inhabitants and tourists as early as the first quarter of 2024.”

Launched early this year by HRH Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Neom Company Board of Directors, The Line is a blueprint for how people and planet can co-exist in harmony. It will be a 170-km belt of hyper-connected future communities, without cars and roads and built around nature. 

“The Line is the first time in 150 years that a major urban development has been designed around people, not roads. Walkability will define life on The Line – all essential daily services, such as schools, medical clinics, leisure facilities, as well as green spaces, will be within a five-minute walk,” Prince Mohammed had remarked at the launch.

Ultra-high-speed transit and autonomous mobility solutions will make travel easier and give residents the opportunity to reclaim time to spend on health and wellbeing. It is expected no journey will be longer than 20 minutes, he stated.

The Line’s communities will be cognitive, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), continuously learning predictive ways to make life easier, creating time for both residents and businesses, he added.

HanmiGlobal, a Korean company specialising in the development and execution of construction projects, had in June been awarded a programme management deal worth $2.07 million for The Line. Its scope of work includes provision of project management services and development of an operations structure and other related work which will be completed by May 2023.

Neom recently invited bids for the construction of 31 km of tunnels as part of The Line with the deadline set at December 30.