Saudi Arabia’s ambitious $1 trillion project, The Line, has announced significant progress despite claims surrounding worker fatalities. According to a recent ITV documentary, Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia, approximately 21,000 workers have allegedly died since 2016 when the Vision 2030 project, which includes The Line, began. However, the Saudi Arabian National Council for Occupational Safety and Health has strongly denied these numbers, calling them “misinformation” and asserting that the actual work-related fatalities are minimal at 1.12 per 100,000 workers—ranking among the lowest globally.
The Line, part of the Vision 2030 initiative led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, is a massive 170 km-long, car-free city that aims to run entirely on renewable energy, designed to attract tourists and investors to diversify the economy. The project’s early phases are now entering a critical stage with international partnerships in city planning and engineering. Neom, the parent company, has enlisted leading architects, including Delugan Meissl Associate Architects, Gensler, and Mott MacDonald, to advance the urban design for phase one, with neighborhood planning expected to begin in early 2025.
Reports have also highlighted challenges, including tensions with local tribes in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk province, where some residents have been displaced to accommodate the sprawling project. Human rights organizations have raised concerns, noting that members of the Al-Howeitat tribe faced arrests and lengthy prison sentences for resisting eviction.
As construction continues, Neom’s leadership asserts that The Line will set a new standard in urban living, showcasing sustainable city planning on an unprecedented scale. The project continues to move forward, with construction expected to ramp up further in 2025, as architects and urban planners work on detailed designs for future residential areas.
