Analyzing Saudi Arabia’s Ambitious $1 Trillion Vision: Feasibility and Challenges

Saudi Arabia’s Neom Smart City

Saudi Arabia plans to build a futuristic city that looks like something out of a science fiction film. The Neom Smart City is designed in a line, 170 km long and 500 meters tall, with huge mirror panels on the exterior. It will have greenery and utilize futuristic technologies. The total cost of making it can reach up to 1 trillion dollars, but Saudi Arabia claims that it can be ready by 2045. Neom is part of Saudi’s Vision 2030 plan, which aims to diversify the country’s economy and develop it in other aspects, such as health, education, infrastructure, tourism, and non-oil exports.

Geography and Climate of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is mostly surrounded by deserts and has a typical desert climate, with temperatures reaching up to 45°C during the day and getting very cold at night. However, the country is geographically diverse, with savannas, mountains, and volcanic fields. It has more than 2,000 dormant volcanoes, many of which are active. Economically, Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Middle East and the 18th largest in the world, mostly dependent on oil. However, the country is interested in diversifying its economy, much like the United Arab Emirates.

The Neom Smart City Project

Neom is not a single smart city but a region that will have many cities, resorts, and other developments. Its total size is roughly equivalent to half the size of the state of Uttarakhand, located in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia, in the north of the Red Sea. The climate here is comparatively moderate. The Neom Smart City will have ten different projects, with four of them already announced:

• The Oxagon, an octagon-shaped floating port
• Trojena, the first major outdoor skiing destination of the Arabian Peninsula
• Sindalah, a luxury resort complex located outside the city coast
• The Line, a 170 km long line with a minimal footprint, utilizing zero gravity urbanism, and powered with 100% renewable energy

Developers claim that 9 million people, the population of New York City, will live in the Neom Smart City, living in 1/20th the size of the area of New York City. The interior will be designed in a way that everything will be available within a 5-minute walking distance, and the climate will be controlled to maintain a consistent climate even through the scorching heat outside. The Line, in particular, is an example of a concept of the 1960s called arcology, which utilizes architecture to build densely populated areas in cities in the most efficient way while causing the least damage to its surrounding environment.

The Line Project and Its Potential Challenges

The Line is a proposed project in Saudi Arabia that aims to create a smart city that is 170 km long and powered by artificial intelligence. The project is expected to be a central point of Europe, Asia, and Africa, making 40% of the world only 6 hours away. While the project has many exciting possibilities, there are also potential dystopian aspects to consider.

• Personalized tracking: The smart city could track individuals’ movements and interests, leading to targeted ads and sales.
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Aside from privacy concerns, there are also challenges related to funding, technology, environment, and architecture that need to be addressed before the project can become a reality.

• Funding: The project’s estimated cost is $1 trillion, and the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund that is financing it depends heavily on oil, which is subject to market fluctuations.
• Technology: The proposed transportation system would require speeds exceeding 500 km/h, which currently does not exist. Additionally, some of the proposed technologies, such as 500-meter-high mirrors, have never been created before.
• Environment: While the project claims to have minimal impact on the environment, concerns have been raised about its impact on animal movement and emissions from its construction.
• Architecture: While the line design saves space, it also creates inefficiencies, such as having only one transportation route for a city of 9 million people.

Overall, the Line project has exciting possibilities, but there are also potential challenges that need to be addressed before it can become a reality.