The Saudi Arabia Plan to transform into a global tourism power is of a size that had never been seen throughout the planet, so it requires a huge economic investment of billions of dollars, as well as large amounts of construction materials. Now the world seeks how to stop The Line because it wants to engulf 20% of a very valuable resource.
A construction in the desert needs abundant resources
The Line is a futuristic city designed in Saudi Arabia to become the heart of the Neom 2030 Plan, which aims to make this nation the world capital of tourism and new technologies. This urban center has a linear shape, as indicated by its name, and will be located between the desert and the Gulf of Aqaba, so that it will become a kind of bridge between the two places.
In addition to a tourist attraction, it also intends to demonstrate that it is possible to have an important urban development that, simultaneously, can be kind to the environment, but The implementation of the project has presented numerous problemsone of them is the large number of materials you need. Now the world seeks to stop The Line because it wants to engulf 20% of a very valuable resource.
The Line is an extreme consumer of materials
The initial projection of The Line seemed very attractive and original, at least in the model and plans, however, as construction advanced, various errors in their conception began to be evidenced. One of them is that, because it is a work of exaggerated dimensions, The consumption of materials is hugeand requires at least 20% of the steel stocks on the planet.
This can compromise the availability of this element for other countries, especially if it is taken into account that its construction is just being initiated. But not only the use of steel is exaggerated, since it was initially projected that it would have a total cost of 500 billion dollars, but as its construction progressed, it was determined that it would exceed 2 billion dollars.
On the other hand, some of the emblematic works that would allow it to be erected as an ecological city have been discarded, the best example is the desalination plant that would have the ability to supply 30% of the water required by its inhabitants, but it will no longer be built (that is why it is said that as part of Neom, its future is uncertain). That undoubtedly has a good part of the interest that this futuristic metropolis could have.
In contrast, the Saudi government will build a concrete factory, which is characterized by its high greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, The Line is a project that, in the course of its evolution, has been losing an important part of what would have been its original essence, to transform into a devouring materials such as steel, and that even so It has had to reduce its ambitions.
A megaproject is reduced to a minimum part
In addition to the monumental consumption of resources to lift The Line, this work presents a series of budget inconveniences due to the withdrawal of some of its investors. This has caused The original project reduces its dimensionsand from the 170 km of extension that were expected to be ready by 2030, it will barely reach 2.4 km, and also went from 1,500,000 inhabitants to only 300,000.
In short, The Line is ceasing to be the futuristic megaproject to transform into a concern due to the exaggerated increase of its costs (which are unimaginable even for this country), so it passes from an extension of 170 km only 2.4 km. But not only is affecting Saudi Arabia, but also other countries, because it is consuming 20% of the steel in the world.
