Jasspreet Kaur
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Saudi Arabia has promised to create a car-free city, called ‘The Line’, as the first major step in building its revolutionary NEOM business zone. The building is set to start within months.
Within the planned NEOM zone, the revolutionary business hub of the kingdom set to be established along the Red Sea coast, Saudi Arabia announced its plans for a zero-carbon city.
In a televised presentation on Sunday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed the city’s launch, called ‘The Line.’
According to the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, the eco-city with “zero cars, zero streets and zero carbon emissions” would have the potential to accommodate one million people.
It will have services such as schools, green spaces, and health centers.
The town’s building is scheduled to start in the first quarter of this year.
“The concept of a conventional city needs to be converted into that of a revolutionary one,” Prince Mohammed said.
NEOM was preparing to rake in billions.
Travel inside the pedestrian city is supposed to take no more than 20 minutes with a high-speed public transportation system planned, a NEOM statement said.
The statement said that artificial intelligence will play a significant role in the project, adding that “it will be operated by 100 percent clean energy, providing residents with pollution-free, healthier and more efficient environments.”
In northwestern Saudi Arabia, NEOM is a $500 billion flagship project planned to be established on a 26,500-square-kilometer (10,230-square-mile) area from scratch and to connect Jordan and Egypt through Saudi territory.
After its announcement in 2017, there has been considerable interest in NEOM, with the mega-development project being promoted as something straight out of science fiction.
By 2030, the NEOM statement said, the project is expected to generate 380,000 jobs and contribute 180 billion riyals ($48 billion) to the GDP of the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia is the top oil exporter in the world and one of the most polluting countries as well.
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