A giant turtle-shaped structure – running 550-m long and 610-m wide – being modelled to host a floating city for ultra-high-net-worths is set to come up in Saudi Arabia.

The terayacht project Pangeos, which is estimated to cost around $8 billion, is being designed by Italian studio Lazzarini and is likely to be located at the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), some 2 km from King Abdullah port. Once the work kicks off, it is expected to take approximately eight years for completion.

 The project, which is double the size of the Roman Colosseum, would be capable of hosting up to 60,000 guests, said Pangeos the Terayacht on its website.

“At the moment, Pangeos is just a concept, but it’s starting to become something more than a computer animation,” said its founder Pierpaolo Lazzarini.

“The terayacht proposal takes its name from Pangea, the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras,” explained Lazzarini. “Guests can unwind by staying in one of the many hotels, exploring its plethora of shopping centres, parks, beach clubs, resorts, as well as ship and aircraft ports.”

According to Lazzarini, the terayacht would have its very own shipyard built specifically for its creation, and would be launched out of Saudi Arabia.

“A terayacht needs a terashipyard. The conception of a similar-sized vessel involves the realisation of a specific shipyard/dam infrastructure that floods to levitate the terayacht when it will be launched,” he stated.

The project scope includes dredging of 1 sq km of sea by building a circular dam. Once the terrain has dried it will be possible to start preparing the basement area, he added.

According to him, space in the floating structure is subdivided into different blocks and the impressive sizes of the Pangeos structure creates an unlimited possibility in terms of layout and facilities.

“The hull is subdivided into about 30,000 cells. This space provides an unsinkable floating solution for the basement, which is composed by cluster compartments and connected by corridors. With 30 m of draft, the ship’s enormous hull is made up of nine different bows and subdivided into several blocks. The structure also boasts a giant gate aft that allows vessels to enter this floating metropolis,” he revealed.

It would be powered by nine high-temperature superconductor (HTS) engines, each fully electric motor capable of a mind-blowing 16,800 hp and powered by various onboard energy sources, he added.