Saudi Arabia's NEOM: Building a future amid controversy and ambition
Saudi Arabia is building its metropolis of the future with ambitions unseen before. Particularly impressive in its scope is the NEOM project, which plans the construction of a linear city 170 kilometres long, the Jeddah Tower skyscraper, over 800 metres high, and a year-round ski resort. However, NEOM also has its dark side.
What future awaits the world's leading oil producers when the demand for this key resource is declining? Saudi Arabia, where oil revenues account for nearly 75% of the budget and 40% of GDP, presented an answer to this challenge in 2016.
The place for the Saudi monarchy in the future world is defined by the Saudi Vision 2030 project, also known as Project 2030. Among the ideas included to make the country independent from hydrocarbon extraction, the NEOM project stands out for its visionary scope.
The NEOM project envisions the construction of a futuristic metropolis, combining unprecedented ambition with modern technical solutions, energy self-sufficiency, and carbon neutrality.
At a cost of half a trillion dollars (0.7 trillion Canadian dollars), with unofficial sources estimating it to as much as 1.5 trillion (2.1 trillion Canadian dollars), a megacity is being developed on the Gulf of Aqaba, expected to generate 460,000 new jobs and $48 (CAD 67) billion in additional GDP. Ultimately, 9 million Saudis, or up to 25% of the country's current population, could live there.
Jeddah Tower – the world's tallest building
Recently, in October 2024, after a temporary pause, work resumed on one of the symbols of the NEOM project: Jeddah Tower. Construction of this building began in 2013, before the NEOM project was announced.
Jeddah Tower will be the world's tallest building, dethroning the Dubai 828-metre Burj Khalifa. The exact final height of the new skyscraper is kept secret, but it is known that the building will reach at least 1,008 metres. This is significantly less than the original plans, which envisioned a height of one mile (1,609 metres).
To enable the construction of the giant skyscraper on unstable ground, exceptional foundations were laid – with piles embedded 200 metres into the ground, supporting a 90-metre concrete slab on which the building is set.
The plan anticipates that it won't be possible to stop the settlement of the structure weighing nearly a million tonnes, so the skyscraper is designed to settle evenly without tilting. This means that over time, its height – measured from ground level – will decrease.
The Line – linear city
The second showpiece of the NEOM project is The Line – a linear city 170 kilometres long. The city is being constructed as a single, giant building with mirror facades that enclose the entirety of the city's space, allowing for air conditioning and the creation of controlled indoor conditions. The idea slightly resembles experimental enclosed ecosystems, like Biosphere 2, although it's significantly larger and doesn't foresee full isolation.
The concept of The Line assumes that the city of the future will not need cars – "the line" will be 200 metres wide and up to 500 metres tall, consisting of two symmetric buildings with a covered space in between.
The plan assumes that all key services will be available to residents within a five-minute walk. The record height is expected to facilitate the world's highest population density, reaching 260,000 people per square kilometre.
The city will be divided into three basic levels – the upper level dedicated to pedestrian activity, an infrastructure level below, and at the lowest level, a transportation system featuring a high-speed train for efficient travel along the entire city.
With access to massive amounts of data, the city will be managed by algorithms, optimizing the giant building's operation to maximize quality of life for its residents. However, the cost of this comfort will be a very high level of surveillance, with data sharing tied to receiving compensation.
Skiing in the desert and a skyscraper sunken into the ground
Among the elements of the NEOM project, Trojena stands out. It will be the first open-air ski resort on the Arabian Peninsula and a year-round winter sports centre. This is possible because it is located in the mountains, at altitudes of 1,700–2,400 metres, where temperatures are significantly lower than in other areas on the Peninsula, dropping even below freezing in winter.
Oxagon also impresses with its ambition. It's a realization of an idea that billionaire Peter Thiel attempted over a decade ago, without success. His concept involved floating islands near French Polynesia, creating a libertarian-themed space beyond the jurisdiction of any country.
Although Thiel's libertarian "paradise" did not materialize, the Saudis are actualizing a similar idea. Oxagon is a city partly floating on water, featuring residential areas, a large port, and a remote industrial hinterland.
Plans involve intensive use of Oxagon's port, expected to become a significant transshipment hub for the region. The floating city's infrastructure will include, among other things, a water desalination plant, a hydrogen factory, and a scientific centre specializing in oceanography.
The plan also includes the construction of a "reverse" community residing in a structure sunken 450 metres into the ground, a large airport with a runway of 3,758 metres (already completed), numerous tourist attractions, shopping centres, and an agricultural area, which, thanks to modern solutions, is expected to supply food for the emerging metropolis.
Alongside projects at various stages of completion, the NEOM project can boast of one that is already in operation. It's Sindalah – a luxurious island with a marina, golf course, high-class hotels, and infrastructure enabling activities for wealthy guests. In October 2024, the official opening of this facility was confirmed.
The price of success
The visionary scope and technical advancement of the Saudi project are only one aspect of the NEOM project. The other – much darker – encompasses the social and environmental costs of its realization.
At this initial stage, the future city's construction has displaced around 20,000 local residents – mainly members of the Bedouin Al-Howeitat community. Protests have been brutally suppressed, with organisers of resistance sentenced to death.
The Kafala system, a prevalent form of employment for immigrants in the region, also raises significant controversy. It involves complete subordination of the worker to the employer in exchange for work and residency, leading to numerous abuses. Human rights defenders argue that Saudi investments are based on this form of exploitation, akin to slave labour.
Working conditions are another issue, as highlighted in investigative reports by French television Arte and British ITV. Critics claim that even 21,000 workers have died during the NEOM program's implementation over the past few years, with the fate of tens of thousands of others unknown.
Besides poor working conditions that violate safety standards, haste is another contributing factor. An example is the land levelling for The Line, conducted continuously 24 hours a day.
Despite the enormity of the billion-dollar investments, there are opinions that the NEOM project is a colossal misunderstanding, that Saudi Arabia's schedule is unrealistic, and that attention-grabbing structures – like the world's tallest building, Jeddah Tower – mask an impending failure.
Will this be the case? The deadlines for completing its various parts are approaching, and in the coming years, we will see how realistic these ambitious assumptions were. The test will happen soon – in the winter of 2029, the Trojena winter sports centre, situated just 50 kilometres from the Red Sea, will host the X Winter Asian Games.
