Istafa Ali
Hold on to your hats, because Saudi Arabia’s mega-dream of a $500 billion linear city named “The Line” just took a surprising twist! Originally planned to stretch a whopping 170 kilometers, it’s getting a major trim—down to a cozy 2.4 kilometers. That’s a haircut of about 98.6%!
Why the sudden change? Well, it turns out that the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund is still mulling over the budget for 2024, according to Bloomberg. So, instead of planning for 1.5 million people to call it home, now just 30,000 residents will get to enjoy this futuristic mini-metropolis.
This dazzling project is part of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s (MBS) Vision 2030, aimed at revolutionizing urban living and giving us a peek into the city of tomorrow. But it seems even royal ambitions must sometimes take a reality check, with financial constraints prompting this scale back.
Yet, amid the financial reshuffling, it’s not just about dollars and cents. The project has stirred up some human rights concerns, particularly with the need to relocate the Howeitat tribe from their ancestral lands in the Tabuk region to make way for this urban innovation.
Despite the size cut, the spirit of the project is alive and well, aiming to redefine how we live, work, and play in the future’s urban landscapes. So, while “The Line” might be shorter, it’s still long on ambition and flair!
