The Line, Saudi Arabia

The Line (Arabic: ذا لاين) is a planned linear settlement under construction in Neom, Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia, to be housed entirely in a single very long arcology. It is planned to be a smart city with no cars, streets or carbon emissions. The project was conceived of by Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman, who was the hands-on chair of the project.

The initial plan called for the city to span 170 kilometres (110 mi) at a height of 500 m (1,600 ft) and a width of 200 metres (660 ft), with the capacity to accommodate a population of 9 million (25% of Saudi Arabia's 2022 population of 35.5 million). The Line was planned to have an entirely glass mirror exterior, with all basic services within a five-minute walking distance. The city is one of the five announced regions of Neom and is a part of Saudi Vision 2030 project.

The plan was announced in 2021 and has persistently been criticized for unrealistic costs and timelines, an impractical shape, environmental harms, and human rights violations. Thousands of people have been forcibly moved to make way for the project and villages have been razed. In 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported on an internal audit of the megaproject which found extensive problems, including "evidence of deliberate manipulation", by the managers of the project. By 2025, the megaproject had been substantially scaled down.

Saudi Arabia stated that it aimed to complete central a 5 km (3.1 mi) segment by 2030, with completion of the full 170 km (110 mi) project in 2045. In 2024, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported that the first phase would only be 2.4 km (1.5 mi) long; Saudi officials denied this and stated that the project was continuing as planned.

In 2024, after $50 billion had been spent, the project was reported to be facing problems of large cost increases, many long delays, and a possible lack of the critical mass of inhabitants needed to make the city a modern business hub. The aim had become to complete the first half-mile section in 2034. The Wall Street Journal said that a 2023 draft board presentation estimated completion in 2080 at a cost of $8.8 trillion—25 times the annual Saudi budget—and $370 billion by 2035 for the first phase, mostly funded by the Saudi state, with the hope of later private investment.

As of the end of 2025, the project appears to have been suspended and no construction work is taking place. International media described The Line as a "likely failure".