Saudi Arabia's mega-city construction plan is collapsing
NEOM, a smart city construction project that Saudi Arabia is investing huge amounts of money in, is reportedly at a standstill and on the verge of collapse.
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia's Neom dream unraveled
Saudi Arabia's Dystopian Futuristic City Project Is Crashing and Burning
https://gizmodo.com/saudi-arabias-dystopian-futuristic-city-project-is-crashing-and-burning-2000683752
NEOM is a plan to create a futuristic megacity in the heart of the desert, promoted by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. So far, it has been revealed that a linear mirrored structure called 'THE LINE' has been constructed, measuring 500 meters high, 200 meters wide, and 170 km long.
The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince announces 'THE LINE,' a futuristic city plan that will pack 9 million people into a huge mirrored space with a total length of 170 km and a height of 500 m - GIGAZINE
The heart of THE LINE is a proposed inverted structure called 'The Chandelier,' a 30-story glass and steel structure that would literally hang from the ceiling and be built over the sea as a gateway to the city.
However, as the design progressed, doubts began to grow about the feasibility of the chandelier. An architect involved in the project told the media, 'The Earth rotates, and tall towers are bound to sway. If a 30-story building is suspended from a height of several hundred meters, it will gradually begin to swing like a pendulum, eventually breaking and falling. I suggested this to the person in charge, but construction continues.'
Crown Prince Salman expects that 'NEOM's gravity-defying spirit will transform life in Saudi Arabia and the surrounding region,' and has placed particular emphasis on THE LINE, making it a 'strategic priority.'
However, various problems have been reported during construction, and it is said that more than 20,000 workers have died on site.
Workers interviewed by the financial newspaper Financial Times said, 'Much of the Line is still technically buildable, but there is no one to foot the bill,' 'Construction has slowed down, and the desert ski resort of Trojena, which is scheduled to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, is one of the few sites still progressing smoothly,' and 'Everyone knows this project will not succeed, and it will only mildly disappoint Crown Prince Salman,' and they were reported to be concerned that the incredibly expensive project could eventually collapse.
Senior officials also said they were caught between the prince's expectations and the unrealistic reality, forcing them to essentially lie about the schedule and costs. At the time of writing, construction is proceeding at a much smaller scale than originally planned.
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