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submitted 1 month ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

It appears that Neom—Saudi Arabia’s hugely expensive, architecturally bizarre urban development project—is floundering and close to collapse. A new report from the Financial Times cites high-level sources within the project to paint a picture of dysfunction and failure at the heart of the quixotic effort.

Neom was envisioned as a vast series of fantastical urban developments spread across the coast of the Red Sea. At the center of the project is The Line—a proposed 105-mile-long city which developers had initially projected could house as many as 9 million people by the year 2030. The Line is defined by bizarre architectural flourishes that, as the story notes, have seemed impossible even to the execs tasked with making them a reality.

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[-] Rooskie91@discuss.online 8 points 1 month ago

At least they're not wasting resources and fossil fuels during a time that is critical for the planets climate. /s

[-] Niberius@sopuli.xyz 7 points 1 month ago

Oh, you mean that project for which they forcefully relocated thousands of people and killed at least one?

Sure would suck if the Saudis murdered and imprisoned people and then bulldozed their homes for one of the dumbest and most expensive architectural failures in human history.

[-] Entertainmeonly@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 month ago
[-] Mac@mander.xyz 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think SAs wild architecture ideas are cool and fun but it's the blood money, slavery, and human rights violations that bother me.

[-] frongt@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

They're also wildly terrible. The only reason any of them get built is because the government throws huge amounts of money at it and doesn't care about the feasibility or impact.

It doesn't matter.

That money was wasted lining the pockets of cronies, while everyone else still has to live in squalor.

[-] Lodespawn@aussie.zone 1 points 1 month ago

It was actually a pretty great extraction of wealth by UK and international architectural and civil engineering firms.

[-] SGGeorwell@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Are they going to properly demolish it or just fly some planes into it?

[-] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 1 points 1 month ago

The damage to the Saudis’ brand here could be quite bad.

Ah yes, the once great brand of the Saudis'. Damaged... What idiot wrote this?

this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2025
20 points (100.0% liked)

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