Disconcerting new designs for Saudi Arabia’s The Line look like optical illusions as £1 trillion city could NEVER be completed

Baffling new plans for The Line in Saudi Arabia have cast further doubt on whether the £1 trillion city will ever be completed.

The latest concept images of the futuristic project, which includes a ship traveling through the linear smart city, look more like optical illusions than reality.

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Located in the province of Tabuk and facing Egypt, across the Red Sea, the futuristic project will be part of the new urban area of ​​Neom.

Alongside the new conceptual images, Neom’s social media account stated that the 170-kilometer metropolis will “redefine livability” and “transform the way we live.”

However, it didn’t take long for critics to criticize the confusing images, which depict two long, mirrored skyscrapers surrounding the city.

But with the mirrors set to reflect the sky, surrounding the desert and water, it gives the illusion of invisibility – and therefore makes the city disappear to ships approaching from a certain angle.

This offers little explanation as to the purpose of the futuristic marina or how it would be accessed.

However, it is the latest in a long list of dilemmas for The Line since the ambitious plans were first announced.

Meanwhile, analysts say the huge structure will kill billions of birds that use the route to migrate between Europe and Africa every year, Wall Street Journal reports.

In a previous study, experts said the giant mirrored facades, the city’s orientation and plans to add wind turbines on top of it would pose a significant threat to the birds that fly over Saudi Arabia every year.

Professor William Sutherland, director of research at the University of Cambridge’s zoology department, said The times: “Birds flying into high windows are a serious problem, and this is a 500-meter-high building that runs across Saudi Arabia, with windmills on top.

“So unless they do something about it, there is a serious risk of a lot of damage to migratory birds.”

Some people also doubt the technology touted for the project, which does not exist and still needs to be invested in.

And while the project has been touted as a green, sustainable city of the future, leading environmental researchers have identified the project as one of the most pressing conversational questions to consider.

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM was expected to cost £1.2 trillion to build, but reports have since claimed it could be closer to the $2 trillion mark if it were built in full.

This led to plans for the 170-kilometre-long side skyscraper to be dramatically reduced.

The Line would be home to 1.5 million residents by the end of the decade, who would be served by robots and AI creations.

But the gigantic project expected by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to wean Saudi Arabia’s economy away from its dependence on oil may not proceed as expected.

It now looks more likely that the Line will extend a measly 1.5 miles and house just 300,000 people by 2030, according to reports seen by The Telegraph.

According to experts, the “not surprising” reduction reflects the Saudi government’s struggles to win over foreign investors, as well as the country’s vulnerability to oil prices.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal analyst at risk consultancy Maplecroft
Advertisement He told The Telegraph: “Foreign direct investment investors did not really believe in the Crown Prince’s vision for a new Saudi Arabia.”

Earlier this year, incredible aerial footage revealed the mind-boggling scale of the planned futuristic megacity, as a 170-kilometre-long chasm was carved into the mountains and desert.

However, it remains to be seen exactly what progress has been made, with the latest images from the construction site showing a bare desert landscape with no visible foundations.

‘BUILT ON BLOOD’

Behind NEOM’s glitzy facades lies a story of threats, forced evictions and bloodshed.

Many projects have faced fierce criticism for human rights violations – including the £400 billion Neom project, where tribes were expelled from their homeland, imprisoned or executed.

At least 20,000 members of the Huwaitat tribe face eviction, with no information about where they will live in the future.

Authorities in the port city of Jeddah also demolished many homes to implement Saudi Arabia’s development plans – with thousands of locals illegally evicted.

One activist said: “Neom was built on Saudi blood.”

Jeed Basyouni, Middle East director for human rights organization Reprieve, said D.W.: “We have seen, time and time again, that anyone who disagrees with the crown prince, or stands in the way, risks being sentenced to prison or death.”

In 2022, Saudi Arabia sentenced three tribesmen to death for refusing to leave the desert site of the futuristic supercity Neom.

The trio from the Howeitat tribe protested their forced eviction from the northern province of Tabuk to make way for the ultra-modern metropolis.

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