Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, revealed his ambitious plan to construct "The Line" last year, a linear city with miles-long buildings set to house millions of people.
The Wall Street Journal has now seen the blueprints and paperwork needed to make this happen and has detailed what the project may truly look like when it materializes into life!
Crossroads Of The World
Considering that the world is shifting away from fossil fuels, Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of crude oil, is attempting to diversify its economy.
One of its proposals is to construct an economic hub at the geographic "crossroads of the world," where more than 40% of the global population can travel in a few hours by plane.
High-speed underground transit lines are being built into the city itself to provide 20-minute commutes to destinations. The linear layout of the metropolis will eliminate the necessity for personal transportation and the issues that plague modern cities.
The two parallel skyscrapers, known as the Mirror Line, will be 1,600 feet (487 m) tall, according to recent internal documents examined by WSJ.
In contrast, the height of the Empire State Building is 1,454 feet (443 m). Another distinction is that the skyscrapers at The Line will span 75 miles (120 km) over terrains like the desert, mountains, and seashore.
Plans for vertical farming have been integrated into the design to help sustain the city's population, and walkways will also connect the buildings on each side.
It is anticipated that the ambitious proposal to create a brand-new city will cost the Kingdom's treasury a trillion dollars. However, the project's biggest challenges might not be financial.
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Big Obstacles Ahead
Millions of migratory birds use these corridors each year, and the high-rise structures provide a barrier in their way. Additionally, the project will uproot local tribal residents who are being forcibly relocated to make way for it, according to a previous WSJ investigation.
The development of the city, which is intended to be built with 2,600-foot (762 m) modules, will also be hampered by the curvature of the Earth, according to Interesting Engineering.
Due to the size of the project, autonomous systems will also be needed to pick and bundle vegetables, and communal kitchens will be required to feed the workforce.
But the major obstacle would be how quickly this new city could be completed. According to a report on an impact assessment from last year, the project may be finished in 50 years even though the Crown Prince, the plan's creator and visionary, wants it completed by 2030.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
