Recently, according to aerial photography footage released by aerial photography company Ot Sky, as part of the Saudi Arabia NEOM (Future New City) development project, the 170-kilometer-long "THE LINE" large-scale city project has been under construction.
The scene taken by drone in northwest Saudi Arabia can not only see engineers inspecting on the spot, but also see various construction vehicles going back and forth.
You can also see in the video a wide linear trench excavated in the desert by an excavator. In this ditch, the foundation is expected to be laid for this urban project "THE LINE", which is expected to be 170 kilometers long.
Just last month, the official account of China Construction International also issued a statement saying that it has signed a general contract for the construction of the Saudi Arabian traffic tunnel project with NEOM Company.
also specifically mentioned in the article, "This project is the largest transportation and public infrastructure project of Saudi , and is also a pioneer project of NEOM's new city "THE LINE". It is a necessary part and important milestone to ensure that NEOM continues to meet its development plan..."
About "THE" LINE”
As part of the "Saudi Arabia Vision 2030" plan, the current Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman announced the idea of the "THE LINE" city project to the outside world in January 2021.
After one and a half years, (July 25, 2022) , the design plan of the "THE LINE" project was officially released.
It is understood that the project plans to build a linear smart city full of technology and futuristic feeling in NEOM New City on the northern part of Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea coast. It is expected that the overall project will cost nearly $1 trillion (approximately RMB 7.18 trillion) to build .
"THE LINE" The overall building height exceeds 500 meters. The facade is made of mirror glass, which directly reflects the surrounding scenery through the glass, which can produce a visual effect of combining virtual and real, aiming to integrate the overall building into nature.
The total length of the building is 170 kilometers, while its width is only 200 meters. It spans three different areas, including coastal desert, mountainous land and upper valley . Each area has different ecological environments, so different projects can be developed according to the environmental conditions of each area.
It is understood that "THE LINE" is the first large-scale urban development project designed around "people" rather than "roads" in 150 years. Therefore, the overall project of "THE LINE" covers an area of only 34 square kilometers, which can accommodate about 9 million people living and living here (it is said to cover only 2% of traditional cities) .
This also means that the infrastructure area of "THE LINE" has been greatly reduced, and the high energy efficiency of urban operation is unprecedented.
In addition, "THE LINE" adopts a new urban planning design scheme, distributes urban functions vertically and layeredly, allowing people to seamlessly shuttle through the three-dimensional space (up, down or horizontal) .
In order to pay attention to livability and environmental protection, not only will parks and pedestrian areas, schools, residences and workplaces be designed in a layered manner, but no roads and cars are planned in "THE LINE", which will achieve the true zero carbon emissions , providing residents with a pollution-free, healthier and more sustainable environment.
All necessary service facilities for people in daily life, such as schools, medical clinics, green spaces and leisure facilities, will be within a 5-minute walk.
In addition, ultra-high-speed transportation and autonomous driving solutions can make people's travel more convenient. It is said that a high-speed railway will be built in "THE LINE" to shorten the travel distance between any two places to within 20 minutes.
It is reported that this project is known as the most grand architectural design of mankind to date. It was designed by the Murphyxis Architects (Morphosis Architects) founded by Thom Mayne, a Pritzker Architecture Award winner. In addition, it also includes the participation of at least 9 other design and engineering companies.
This project also represents the pioneering model of sustainable development and the concept of harmonious coexistence with nature. It depicts a people-oriented technology city blueprint and will create a new urban life experience for people.
Mumhamed bin Salman said, "This project will solve the challenges facing human urban life at the moment and show a new way of life. The subversion of the traditional level of urban layout with vertically layered communities will create a model for nature conservation and improving urban livability, bringing earth-shaking changes to people's lifestyles in the future."
Mumhamed bin Salman regards this zero-carbon new city as an international center and hopes to be completed by 2030. But some engineers are worried that due to the huge scale of the project, it may take 50 years to complete.
