Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced his latest plan for Saudi Arabia’s future beyond oil: a linear city with no cars, roads or carbon emissions. The 170 kilometre-long (106 miles) development called “The Line” will be part of the $500 billion Neom projects, the crown prince said in a televised speech on Sunday. Construction is planned to start in the first quarter.
Prince Mohammed said there was a need to transform the concept of a conventional city into that of a futuristic one. “By 2050, one billion people will have to relocate due to rising CO2 emissions and sea levels. 90 per cent of people breathe polluted air,” he added. “Why should we sacrifice nature for the sake of development? Why should seven million people die every year because of pollution? Why should we lose one million people every year due to traffic accidents? And why should we accept wasting years of our lives commuting?” he said, according to the report.
Construction of “The Line” project starts in the first quarter of 2021 and uses artificial intelligence as part of larger sustainability. The project uses ‘clean energy’ and will make all daily needs–schools, medicines, clinics others within a five-minute reach. Other countries in the gulf are also diversifying. Notable are countries like Qatar, UAE and others. The diversification process is accompanied by relaxation in conservative rules in many of the gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.
Built around nature, ‘The Line’ will function without cars, roads or traffic, instead of being built up of 170km of hyper-connected communities. Ultra-high-speed transit and autonomous mobility solutions will ensure that no journey exceeds 20 minutes within the city. Once complete the carbon emission-free city aims to contribute almost USD$48 billion to the Saudi economy.
