Construction has begun on a 650-foot-wide, 100-mile-long dystopian so-called “smart linear city” in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern province of Tabuk, video footage shows.
of picture Released by Ot Sky aerial photography company based in Saudi Arabia on October 20th.
It shows dozens of excavators digging a wide linear trench in the desert and beginning to lay the foundations of a city, also known as “The Line.” This is the first city to be developed as part of his $500 billion Neom city project in Saudi Arabia.
according to it official website, The Line is “a human-first civilizational revolution, offering an unprecedented urban living experience while preserving the natural environment around us.” It redefines what it should be.”
According to the authorities, the linear city will have no roads, vehicles or emissions, will run on 100% renewable energy, and will have 95% of its land reserved for nature.
Built at 1,600 feet above sea level and ultimately set to house 9 million people, they will live in vertically stratified communities, all accessible within a 5-minute walk.
It will also have a public transport network that will allow residents to traverse the entire mirrored city in just 20 minutes.
Neom is the brainchild of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, who first announced the megacity project in 2017.
“Civilization Revolution”
and statement When unveiling The Line’s design in July, the crown prince said the kingdom was “engaging in a human-first civilizational revolution based on a fundamental change in urban planning.”
“The livability and environmental crises facing cities around the world cannot be ignored. Prince said. “NEOM leads the brightest teams in architecture, engineering and construction to bring the idea of building upwards to life.”
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Neom also Have “The world’s first independent international zone”, its own regulatory framework and an autonomous judicial system, although the latter is “subject to independent regulation and legislation”.
Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly accused by human rights groups and UN agencies of laws restricting political and religious expression and of human rights abuses, including executions, alleged torture of prisoners and detainees, and unlawful interference with privacy. rice field.
The 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the government, is also tied to the crown prince. Saudi officials, however, deny any link between the crown prince and Khashoggi’s death, and deny reports of human rights abuses.
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Katabella Roberts is a news writer for The Epoch Times, focusing primarily on US, world and business news.