Plans to build a 170km-long city in the desert, with 1,5 million people slated to live there, has been scaled back according to a report by Bloomberg, citing “people familiar with the matter.” Just 2.4km are now expected to be completed by 2030 and the intended population reduced to 300,000. That would still make it the most densely populated place on Earth, seven times more than Singapore or Hong Kong.
The Line, a planned megastructure that would be longer than the distance between New York and Philadelphia and taller at some points than the Empire State Building, is situated within the broader NEOM development, which has attracted huge interest from businesses across the architectural and construction worlds.
Just 2.4km are now expected to be completed by 2030
It is unclear what impact the change in scope will have on the availability of work. According to Bloomberg, at least one contractor has started to dismiss some of its site workers as a result of the change.