Using the most advanced technologies in the world, The Line city project at NEOM, announced on Sunday by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, brings the future to the present.
The Line is 170 km long and is located within the NEOM project, which covers more than 27,000 square kilometers in Saudi Arabia’s northwest. It will become a hub for new technologies and businesses.
Though Saudi Arabia is the largest oil exporter and the only reliable swing producer, The Line will take us to an oil-free future with no carbon emissions and neither cars nor roads. A 170-km-long city with a population of 1 million, it will preserve 95 percent of NEOM’s natural environment and will contain zero cars, zero streets and zero carbon emissions. There will be communities powered by artificial intelligence, and the longest journey on The Line is estimated to take no longer than 20 minutes.
The Line is operated using 100 percent renewable energy so that responsibility for preserving the environment becomes integral to the laws and regulations that promote sustainable practices at all levels.
The Line is the first smart city in the world; it boasts a series of interconnected cognitive societies dependent upon artificial intelligence, and is free of carbon emissions, noise, pollution, vehicles and streets. It extends from the coast of NEOM on the Red Sea in the northwest of the Kingdom.
The Line is a vital part of Saudi Arabia’s race against time as it implements Vision 2030. It is not only part of Saudi Arabia’s aim to catch up with the developed world, but also part of a race against the world of the future. It is part of a new global shift toward human-friendly smart and sustainable cities.
The Line is a project that will accommodate competent dreamers and people who set out to develop humanity and improve the quality of human life. It is a gigantic and huge project that shows to everyone the great development that the Kingdom is witnessing. The project will place the Kingdom at the pinnacle of high-tech modern standards.
The project will place Saudi Arabia at the pinnacle of high-tech modern standards.
Faisal Faeq
The Line will be a solid foundation for building a knowledge economy that will embrace competencies, scientific minds and skills from various disciplines in the service of humanity. It will contribute to NEOM by adding SR180 billion ($47.9 billion) to Saudi gross domestic product by 2030. In addition, it will create 380,000 job opportunities by 2030, which will help the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals in terms of economic diversification.
People will be at the center of life in The Line and its design eliminates the need for vehicles. The Line will restore and preserve human relationships with nature through its interconnected nature and open walking spaces.
The ease and preservation of the local environment surrounding it lies in a configuration that is no longer possible in big cities where technology has dominated nature, and even overcome it.
The Line illustrates that there is no longer surprise at the succession of achievements that have put Saudi Arabia squarely into the ranks of developed nations. Vision 2030 is our national project, and as it takes shape day after day, we see a reality that calls us to explore a future which is both promising and bright.
- Faisal Faeq is an energy and oil marketing adviser. He was formerly with OPEC and Saudi Aramco. Twitter:@faisalfaeq
