City of the future: Saudi officials ready to invest $1 trillion and wait 50 years

At the beginning of the year, Saudi authorities announced plans to build an innovative eco-city in the desert. What will he be like? The Wall Street Journal has revealed some details of the future project, citing insiders.

The initial name of the project was “Line”, as the future city will consist of two tall buildings with a height of 490 meters located parallel to each other. The length of the buildings (according to the plan) was to be 170 kilometers. But after the publishing house The Wall Street Journal reported that the project now has a new name – “Mirror Line”. It has been learned that the skyscrapers inside will be completely reflected from the outside. In addition, the length of the city was reduced to about 120 kilometers.

The construction was expected to be completed by 2030, and by that time people would already be able to live in the city, but now the completion date has changed – it is assumed that the arrangement could take up to 50 years.

Although it was previously reported to be only one million, the city will be able to accommodate up to five million people. However, the cost of the project increased with the planned population density. It has already doubled, from $500 billion to $1 trillion. And it seems that this is not the final figure.

The newspaper also points out that the project is experiencing its first difficulties. First, Saudi authorities find it difficult to negotiate on foreign investment as some countries are unwilling to invest in the project due to human rights abuses in the country (for example, the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018). In addition, environmentalists are starting to oppose the project, who believe that such a high-altitude city could disrupt the migration routes of migratory birds and confuse the animals with mirrors.