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Leaked architectural designs suggest that Mirror Line, the name of a city of 5 million people built on stilts as tall as the Empire State Building, will be the world's largest architectural structure and must "bend" to match the curvature of the Earth.
The Mirror Line is estimated to cost around $1 trillion and has no completion date, but experts estimate it could take up to 50 years to build. The kingdom is incredibly wealthy and currently reaps enormous revenue from high oil prices.
Not all of Saudi Arabia's dream construction projects are completed. The planned world's tallest skyscraper was suspended after the last oil boom ended.
This is the area where the Mirror Line high-rise building is planned to be constructed.
Mirror Line is just one part of the larger Neom megacity development that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), 35, hopes will attract foreign investment to the kingdom to diversify its economy away from oil.
The young prince, who has access to a $620 billion sovereign wealth fund, is said to have ever-changing ideas for his overall plan and has caused dozens of key staff members to complain about a toxic work environment and massive overspending with little results.
Twenty-five current and former employees told Bloomberg that they are struggling to implement nearly impossible plans for Neom, a company that has been under development for five years. The workers say there is a culture of fear when it comes to telling MBS – who has locked up many of his own families – that some elements of his vision are impossible.
According to Bloomberg, dozens of people have lost their jobs while millions of dollars have been spent on architects, futurists, and production designers in Hollywood. In addition to the Neom plan, the two mirrored buildings forming the Mirror Line are said to run parallel to each other for 120 kilometers and stand 487 meters tall, housing 5 million people and costing an estimated $1 trillion.
The WSJ reported that vertical farming will be integrated into buildings so that residents – who will pay a subscription fee for three meals a day – will have vegetables that they “harvest and pack themselves” and bring into their “shared kitchens.”
A sports stadium will be located 300 meters above ground, and a high-speed train will run beneath the buildings. A marina where residents can dock their yachts will run between the two buildings.
Planning documents seen by the Wall Street Journal detail grand plans for a science fiction-style skyscraper but also highlight the numerous problems designers are facing as they try to meet MBS's wishes.
The crown prince revealed the concept to The Line last year, announcing that his project would be “a civilizational revolution that puts people first.”
Mirror Line will have all the amenities of a miniature city.
He said the 169-kilometer-long "straight-line city" would be carbon-free, car-free, and pollution-free.
During the initial stages of construction, the Al-Howeitat tribe was forcibly removed from the area, at one point leading to a shootout and the death of a resident by security forces.
Some of the most renowned foreign architects and designers flocked to work on MBS's Vision 2030 plan, with many reportedly aware that their work might never be used due to the project's overwhelming ambition.
If the Mirror Line is completed, it will run from the Gulf of Aqaba through a mountain range, where the Saudi Arabian government is located, and into the desert plain.
