Aerial images reveal sheer scale of new £800bn futuristic Saudi city | Asia News

Astonishing new aerial pictures have revealed the gigantic scale of a construction site for an ambitious new £800billion city in Saudi Arabia.

A 75-mile long chasm has been carved out of the mountains to pave the way for a futuristic skyscraper-laden city called The Line.

If completed, The Line will be part of the vast desert complex of Neom and feature huge angled glass structures over an artificial river, an octagonal floating port and even a synthetic ski resort.

The mega sci-fi project, launched by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, will also come with a swimming lane for commuters, as well as robots and AI to serve future residents.

Giles Pendleton, COO for The Line, shared the remarkable images of the site from above in response to ‘naysayers’ who doubt the grand plans will ever become a reality.

Images show huge excavation lines stretching for miles etched into the landscape where The Line is set to be built.

‘Neom is real, part 12,’ Mr Pendleton wrote of the latest snaps where huge mountains of sand can be seen piled up to make space for the planned ‘hidden marina’.

He said: ‘How to answer the naysayers about the incredible work being done in Neom?

‘Show a cross section of the world’s largest building site from the mountains to the sea.

‘Massive excavations on The Line, the future of island resorts on Sindalah and the next generation of ports and logistics at Oxagon.’

Creators hope that nine million people will live in the city which will have two 1,600ft-tall mirrored buildings with outdoor spaces in between, making them the 12th tallest buildings in the world – and third highest in Saudi.

Futuristic design plans include trees climbing over the sprawling metropolis with state of the art architecture in a city that’s supposed to be fully powered by renewable energy.

Mr Pendleton said more than 100 million cubic metres of sand have already been moved.

Bin Salman said he wants the construction of The Line to become as iconic and timeless as the Pyramids of Egypt, as well as ‘putting humans first’.

The prince ambitiously hoped construction would be completed by 2030, but engineers warned it could take as long as 50 years.

He also wants Neom as a whole to create thousands of new jobs and allow the nation to become less reliant on oil for wealth.

Some estimates suggest the overall cost of The Line, which will also be home to a sports stadium 1,000ft above ground, could soar to almost £800bn ($1trillion).

Investment from foreign countries could be a sticking point moving forward, however, as many western countries are continuing to boycott Saudi Arabia over human rights violations.

Neom also faced criticism for forcibly removing tribes from the area, while security forces were accused of shooting dead a resident.

To add to the ethical battles project leaders face, bird experts warned that The Line will be a ‘deathtrap’ for millions of migrating birds.

Conservationists said it will create a deadly barrier for birds migrating between Europe and Africa each year.

‘Birds flying into tall windows is a serious problem, and this is a building that is 500m high going across Saudi Arabia, with windmills on top,’ professor William Sutherland, director of research in Cambridge University’s zoology department, told The Times.

‘It’s also kind of like a mirror so you don’t really see it. So unless they do something about it, there’s a serious risk that there could be lots of damage to migratory birds.’

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