Overwhelming and ambitious, a colossal project in Saudi Arabia aims to craft the world’s largest building—an urban behemoth that has begun to take shape, with photographs and videos capturing progress at the venue, The Line. The initiative is moving steadily forward, a pace that signals serious momentum. The concept began as a bold vision—a solitary, striking setting transformed by human ingenuity into a functional living space. The Line is a megastructure designed to redefine how a city can be imagined. It sits at the center of the Saudi desert, an audacious plan that would span 9 million people in scale, rise to a height comparable to the Empire State Building, and stretch about half a kilometer wide along a 170-kilometer corridor.
The title Pharaoh hardly captures the magnitude of The Line building-city. Neom represents a broader framework that will connect and unify the entire project. Following the decision to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in this desert region, the line became part of a larger, nation-promoting vision from the Saudi leadership, which will also feature a significant ski slope as part of its diverse offerings.
In essence, this megastructure is envisioned as a vast wall running neatly along its length, a slender corridor carved into the landscape. It would traverse the desert for 170 kilometers, reaching the shores of the Red Sea, with an exterior height that mirrors iconic skyscrapers and a modest width around 200 meters.
Inside that expansive envelope, residents would inhabit a self-contained, verdant environment—an extensive tree-covered zone with lakes and a wide array of services all housed in an air-conditioned setting. Living amid the desert would feel like occupying a controlled, space-station environment where daily life remains uninterrupted by external harshness.
A backhoe and truck tirelessly method the land in Saudi Arabia to prepare the footprint for The Line. Recent footage captures the current state of this ongoing work, offering a glimpse into the scale of development at the site:
Advocates emphasize the project’s ecological aspirations, noting that the entire structure is intended to run on 100 percent renewable energy and that internal transportation within the city would produce zero emissions. To traverse the full 170-kilometer span, a high-speed train would complete the journey in about 20 minutes. A core promise is that essential services, shops, and other everyday centers would be reachable within a short five-minute walk from residents.
Today’s view of the works @otskydrone
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who serves as the chairman of Neom, envisions this vast city as a symbol of the sustainable future the country is pursuing. He has stated that new and creative solutions are essential to address livability and environmental challenges facing cities around the world.
Recreation of part of the building with a football stadium in the center neom
This website continues to showcase remarkable images of what will be inside The Line and tracks the project’s evolution over time, offering updates on a range of innovations and developments.
Where will the water come from?
Securing sufficient water supplies for both residents and infrastructure is one of the foremost challenges facing The Line and the broader Neom project, including the ski resort. The plan points to the construction of large water treatment facilities capable of delivering desalinated water from the Red Sea to nearby communities. While the desalination plants are expected to run on electricity sourced from renewables, some experts question whether solar capacity can scale to meet the demand for such a vast operation. The energy required to desalinate this volume of water could produce significant CO2 emissions, especially if supplementary power sources are not fully optimized.
Indeed, emissions from construction activities—machinery, transport, and material supply—will contribute to a sizable carbon footprint. The long-term plan may include offset mechanisms announced by the Saudi government, intended to balance emissions through sustainability initiatives.
Beyond environmental concerns, the project has raised questions about freedoms and human rights in the region. Reports have emerged about forced evictions in some areas to make way for development, and there have been discussions about penalties and legal consequences in October related to residents affected by the work.
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Note: This article focuses on the visual and operational aspects of The Line, along with the broader Neom initiative, while outlining the debates surrounding water sourcing, emissions, and governance.