Saudi Arabia’s The Line has a new construction update, as satellite images by Australian company Soar revealed how much ground the megacity has covered so far, followed by the city’s length and the layout of the site, according to a report by Gizmodo.
The images, which were taken by a satellite from Chang Guang Satellite Technology Corporation on October 22 this year, showed updates of the megacity from the main base camp.
The base camp is located at 28.10 degrees latitude and 35.30 degrees longitude on the eastern side of Saudi Arabia’s peninsula region.
The colour-coded version of the base camp shows The Line being dug into the sand of the desert, and is about 200 feet (60 meters) wide.
At least 425 excavation vehicles are on the site, as indicated by the red dots seen on the image. An estimate 1.7 million cubic metres of rock and sand are being dug up at this site alone, the report said.
Urban’s image also characterises different parts of the construction site, such as a main construction camp in pink that is being used to house workers and arrays of solar panels in green.
The megacity’s western site, located approximately at 28.15 degrees latitude and 34.68 degrees longitude, was first taken on September 10, 2022 using a satellite by Singapore’s Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Company.
The image revealed 103 excavation vehicles, digging up an estimated 0.7 million cubic meters of the Earth for The Line. According to an image by Urban on Soar, the area has been excavated as per the planned area.
Recently in October, new drone footage was also released by the Saudi Arabia-based OT Sky drone company.
According to the footage, the 170-kilometre linear city, which is being built in the kingdom’s north-west Tabuk province, saw excavators digging a wide trench in the desert in the video.
The Line, which will have a mirror façade, is set to be 500 metres tall, accommodating nine million people and will be built on a footprint of 34 square kilometres.
The project is part of the $500 billion NEOM project, a futuristic city with a mixed-use development, containing spaces for work, play and living.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said “The Line” will embody “Zero Gravity Urbanism,” where city functions are layered vertically.
“The designs revealed today for the city’s vertically layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities and create a model for nature preservation and enhanced human livability,” he said in a statement.
He said it “will tackle the challenges facing humanity in urban life today and will shine a light on alternative ways to live.”
The crown prince claims residents will be able to reach all daily needs within a five-minute walk in “The Line,” where public parks and pedestrian areas, schools, homes and places for work are “layered.”
There will also be a high-speed rail with an end-to-end transit of 20 minutes, according to the statement.
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