Saudi Arabia’s finance minister addresses concerns about $1 trillion giga-project The Line

Saudi Arabia’s finance minister has addressed concerns about its billion dollar smart city that is currently under construction.

The Line is a linear smart city that will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy. It will be located in NEOM, an urban area being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province.

It is part of Saudi Vision 2030, an ambitious program with a lot of different social and cultural objectives.

As well as a pledge to diversify the country’s economy away from oil, project pillars include creating a ‘vibrant society that serves as the foundation for a thriving economy and an ambitious nation’.

Work has already begun on a myriad of key projects, including the Trojena alpine resort, a floating industrial district called Oxagon and The Line: a 170km-long city prioritizing people and nature.

However concerns have been raised about the NEOM project, as well as a change of leadership last month, with Aiman Al-Mudaifer named acting CEO.

An official statement read: “As NEOM enters a new phase of delivery, this new leadership will ensure operational continuity, agility and efficiency to match the overall vision and objectives of the project.

“Progress continues on all operations as planned, as we deliver the next phase of our vast portfolio of projects,” it continued, citing The Line, Trojena, the Oxagon industrial hub and more.

News of the leadership shift came after reports that plans for The Line had been scaled back. Bloomberg claimed The Line’s length had been reduced from 170km to 2.4km to be completed by 2030. Estimates for the total cost of The Line are as high as $1 trillion.

An entirely glass mirror exterior is planned for The Line (Neom)

There’s a lot riding on this project as you can probably imagine. And now, finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan has described NEOM as a ‘very long-term program’ and said returns should not be expected in the coming years.

"Neom is a 50-plus-year plan. If anyone is thinking NEOM in its grand size is going to be built and operated and making money in five years, that's foolish. We are not foolish. We are wise people," he said on Tuesday as reported by Reuters.

"Some projects within Neom will make returns in the short to medium term, but this is a very long-term program."

Meanwhile, Giles Pendleton, the Chief Operating Officer for The Line, shared on LinkedIn shots that provide an insight into The Line’s progress so far.

He wrote in the post: "How to answer the naysayers about the incredible work being done in NEOM? Show a cross section of the world's largest building site from the mountains to the sea."

The pictures, which appear to have been taken via a drone or helicopter, show a very complex building plan.