The Line: Saudi Arabia scales back megacity plans as MBS' ambitions falter

Architects and developers in Saudi Arabia are continuing to severely scale back plans for The Line, the 170km-long linear city that forms the centerpiece of the futuristic Neom mega-project, according to a new investigation by The Financial Times (FT). 

The FT report, based on over 20 anonymous interviews, outlines how engineers and executives are struggling to realise Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s grand architectural ambitions, which have been met with scrutiny and pushback due to their unrealistic design and high costs.

A planner told the FT that Mohammed bin Salman demanded that The Line “had to be 500m high and it had to be 200m across”, despite guidance that a 100m structure would be more feasible. 

The report revealed that the project's ambitions were based on the whims of the crown prince, described by several former employees as "intelligent, hard working" but with a "weakness": "his love for fantastical, science-fiction creations".

“Somebody told [the crown prince] very early on that he could have a high-speed rail from the airport to the coast and he could do it in 20 minutes. So he wanted one,” the planner told FT.

By 2023, The Line had shrunk from a planned 20 modules to just three, and a senior construction manager described the project as “uninvestible”. At least $50bn has already been spent, with construction now in its third year.

According to Neom staff interviewed by the FT, the crown prince continued to dismiss concerns over growing costs and the project's unrealistic timeline. The original plan envisioned 16km being completed by 2030, with the first residents expected as early as 2025. 

The planner told the FT that design exhibitions for the prince were permeated by "fear": “People would just mimic whatever he had to say.”

Controversial from the start

Beyond its lofty goals, The Line has drawn controversy over its environmental impact - including risks to migratory species - and local communities, with entire villages razed to make way for its construction.

The FT investigation named at least two villages, Qayal and al-Khuraybah, that have been demolished for the project. 

In 2023, rights groups revealed that nearly 50 members of the Huwaitat tribe had been arrested for resisting forced eviction; five were later sentenced to death.

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Last year, a former Saudi intelligence official told Middle East Eye that security forces had been given "kill orders" from leadership to quell protests against demolitions.

Several civilians, including a three-year-old child, were killed in al-Musawara region during this timeframe. 

Human rights organisations have also criticised the brutal working conditions and exploitation of labour involved in the project. 

Last year, Pakistani engineer Abdul Wali Skandar Khan died after a guardrail collapsed on him at a construction site. Reports revealed that Saudi authorities and Neom leadership failed to conduct a proper investigation or compensate Khan’s family.

The incident came after widespread accusations of racism, misogyny and corruption from members of senior leadership. Former managing director of media, Wayne Borg, was reported to have referred to South Asian migrant workers as “fucking morons”, while former CEO Nadhmi al-Nasr, who bragged about driving everyone “like a slave”.

Last week, Reuters reported that the Saudi government was looking to redirect its $925bn sovereign wealth fund towards existing economic sectors - including logistics, minerals and religious tourism - as well as artificial intelligence and data centers. 

The report indicated that gigaprojects such as Neom are being deprioritised amid mounting delays and challenges.

In July, it was reported that Neom was considering laying off up to 1,000 employees, an estimated 20 percent of its full-time staff, in another sign that the kingdom was scaling back its flagship mega-project.