--- title: "Saudi Arabia Says Its 100 Mile Skyscraper Will Have a Population of 9 Million" description: "Saudi Arabia has broken ground on its gigantic and controversial 100-mile skyscraper city called The Line, which is meant to house up to 9 million people." date: "2022-10-26" modified: "2022-10-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/saudi-arabia-skyscraper-population-9-million" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "neom" - "Saudi Arabia" - "the digest" - "the line" --- # Saudi Arabia Says Its 100 Mile Skyscraper Will Have a Population of 9 Million ![Saudi Arabia has broken ground on its gigantic and controversial 100-mile skyscraper city called The Line, which is meant to house up to 9 million people.]() *\Image: Neom\* ## Drawing The Line Saudi Arabia [has broken ground]() on its gigantic and controversial 100-mile skyscraper city, called The Line. And judging by the astronomical scale of the operation, it's bound to be either one of the greatest feats of modern-day engineering — or a monumental, half-trillion-dollar failure. The scale is immense. The Line is designed to house up to nine million residents, [*CNBC* reports](), inside a two parallel skyscrapers some 1,640 feet high and 650 feet across. The whole development, the oil-rich country says, will run entirely on renewable energy. Plenty of experts have voiced their criticism since then, with architects calling it "[dystopian]()" pipe dream. In fact, the project is already shrouded in controversy, with watchdogs already [reporting of human rights abuses]() during the first days of its construction. ## Desert Monument The Line is one of three mammoth projects — the overarching Neom development area will also include a mountainous travel destination for outdoor sports enthusiasts called Trojena, and a massive floating industrial complex called Oxagon. In short, the scale is reminiscent of other monumental construction projects, like Egypt's pyramids — that is, if it will ever be completed. "I want to be clear about this — Neom is a complex, bold, and highly ambitious undertaking and is most certainly not an easy one to deliver," Antoni Vives, chief urban planning officer at Neom, told *CNBC*. "But we are making strong progress, and it’s exciting to see the vision come to life." ## Humanitarian Cost Given Saudi Arabia's less-than-stellar human rights record, the construction of Neom will almost certainly come at a humanitarian cost. In March, the kingdom executed 81 men, the biggest mass execution in decades, [according to *CNN*](). Human Rights Watch is [also warning]() that migrant workers, who will undoubtedly work on the project, will be entirely at the mercy of their employers, and operating outside of labor laws. Meanwhile, foreign architecture firm executives are being offered [million-dollar salaries]() to work on the project. Construction has only just begun, but given what's at stake, there's a chance Saudi Arabia's giga project won't end up being a monument to modern society — but a memorial, instead. **READ MORE:** [Flying taxis, robotic avatars and holograms — Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with its sci-fi city vision]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on the project:** *[Saudi Arabia Begins Construction of 100 Mile Skyscraper]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()