Saudi Arabia’s The Line City: Key Facts, Vision, & Progress

Published Date:

Aug 15, 2025

Last Updated :

Aug 12, 2025

This blog covers key facts, vision, and progress of Saudi Arabia’s THE Line City and its innovative sustainable urban development.

Launched in 2021 by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, The Line City is a revolutionary concept that is put forward to redefine urban living while prioritising people and nature. It focuses on creating a new urban sustainability model completely based on renewable energy.

The Line City is officially part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda for economic diversification beyond oil. To be more specific, it is a flagship subproject within NEOM, which itself is one of Vision 2030’s major giga-projects.

Other renowned projects in NEOM include Oxagon, Trojena, and Sindalah.

Vision Behind The Line City

The Line will be a cognitive city stretching across 170 kilometres. It is located in the northwest of Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea with a very diverse terrain, including the epic mountains of NEOM, red desert expanses, and snow-topped mountains that have views of the Gulf of Aqaba.

It is set to represent a mirrored architectural masterpiece, sandwiched between two glass skyscrapers, each more than 1,600 feet high, towering 500 metres above sea level, yet spanning a land-saving 200 metres wide.

Once completed, The Line City will redefine the traditional concept of urban development, introducing a new dimension to the future of cities and what they look like. It will also fully align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals, which focus on sustainability, innovation, and human well-being.

The guiding vision behind The Line NEOM project is to reframe urban living by creating a fully sustainable human-centric city that can co-exist in harmony with nature in its true form. In other words, this revolutionary linear smart city will reshape how people live, work, and engage with entertainment, all while upholding carbon-neutral and nature-respecting values.

A picture showing the key elements of The Line City in Saudi Arabia.

The Line City envisions a revolutionary model of urban living focusing on a zero-carbon, car-free city that prioritises sustainability, innovation, and human well-being, in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Unparalleled Access To Nature

One of the key concepts behind The Line, a subproject of NEOM, is to offer immediate and uninterrupted access to nature within just a two-minute walk, featuring dynamic open spaces, dispersed on multiple levels. Residents here will also enjoy equal access to serene views of the surrounding landscapes, mountains, and sky, backed by a reduced infrastructure footprint.

Clean Air For Everyone

The Line will be a zero-carbon city, due to its unique design that eliminates unnecessary infrastructure, roads, and vehicles. It will operate on a 100% renewable energy system, including the functioning of its industries. Besides this, 95% of the land in the project will be preserved for nature. This mindful integration of nature and open spaces throughout the city plays a crucial role in improving air quality.

More Time To Spend With Loved Ones

All the daily essentials in the city will be accessible with just a five-minute walk, supported by an efficient public transport network, and high-speed rail, with an end-to-end transit of 20 minutes. AI will power automated services in The Line.

Having all essential amenities and facilities close by allows residents to see family, friends, and neighbours more often through spontaneous encounters. This convenience also translates to more time to spend with loved ones at home.

A Perfect Climate All-Year-Round

To ensure the establishment of microclimatic spaces, the environment has been carefully designed to allow for an optimal balance of sunlight, shade, and natural ventilation. Furthermore, the green open spaces throughout the city will further enhance the comfort for those living, working, and visiting here. The ideal climate all year round will ensure that residents can enjoy the surrounding nature.

A view of The Line City featuring a scenic waterway and the vibrant blue ocean, highlighting the city's integration with nature and futuristic coastal design

The Line City will be built along the Red Sea, integrating futuristic urban living with the region’s natural coastline.

Key Facts

The Line NEOM is a revolutionary urban vision that is expected to bring value to the world through

Work-life balance
Legacy-free urbanism
Enhanced livability
Leisure and sports
Vertical living
Next-gen architecture
Walkable communities
Environmental solutions

World-Class Quality Of Life

The Line City is a place where the best and the brightest live. It will be a place for unparalleled economic and social experimentation, without factors such as pollution and traffic. It will also feature world-class preventive healthcare, so people feel better and live longer

A Place To Prototype Businesses

As part of NEOM, The Line is a redefined concept of urban development that is designed for humans and around them, not by technology. It is designed to be a cognitive city that assesses and addresses what we need, not the other way around.

The zero-gravity living concept in the city promotes a higher-density footprint, creating a much richer and more engaging human experience, new business opportunities, and, most importantly, large-scale job creation.

Environmental Solution To Urbanism

The Line in Saudi Arabia will feature a zero-car environment that supports its 100% sustainable transport system, eliminating pollution with zero wait time. This reduced commuting will give residents more spare time for leisure and meaningful bonding with family. Besides this, not having to incur expenses like car insurance, fuel, and parking increases disposable income.

A Community Inventing The Future

The Line City in NEOM integrates advanced tech planning, logistics, and modular construction, allowing a swift and efficient delivery of the project milestones. Being part of the Line City community, you are always only two minutes away from nature.

A visual representation of The Line City, showing people spending quality time in green public spaces, walkable areas, and community hubs within a futuristic, sustainable urban environment.

The Line City promotes a high quality of life, where families thrive in safe, green, and people-first spaces.

Progress and What to Expect

The first phase of The Line, the Hidden Marina, is actively under construction, spanning 2.5 kilometers and standing tall at 500 meters. It is designed to host over 200,000 residents, with modular sections already in motion.

Some sources report that only the Hidden Marina is expected to be completed by 2030, and the project is facing setbacks. However, the Saudi officials and related authorities continue to assert that the project is well underway as initially planned, dispelling the claims made of scale reduction.

More recently, the public investment fund (PIF) has turned to consulting firms to conduct a strategic review of the project status and feasibility, which NEOM believes to be a common practice for long-term megaprojects.

While NEOM did not get into the details of the project review, it is more likely to be focusing on technical viability, financing, and overall economic impact.

The cost of NEOM as a whole is estimated to be $1.5 trillion. As of 2024, there tends to be an abrupt shift in spending, mainly due to the growing Saudi budget deficit, and the price of a barrel of oil falling well below what the kingdom needs to balance its budget.