Neom, Saudi Arabia, on January 12, 2021.
Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images
Images obtained by the WSJ show Saudi Arabia’s plan to build a community of parallel skyscrapers.
The project is intended to house 5 million people and includes a train running under the buildings.
It’s part of Neom, a futuristic megacity development the size of Massachusetts.
Saudi Arabia is planning to build the Mirror Line — two parallel skyscrapers that will stretch for 75 miles over varied terrain — at a cost of up to $1 trillion, or the entire GDP of Indonesia.
The Wall Street Journal reported details about the project on Saturday after obtaining confidential planning documents. The skyscrapers, which are set to have mirrored sides, will cut through mountains and desert, span all the way to the coast and into the water. Artist renderings of the project were published by The Journal.
The outlet reported the project is expected to cost up to $1 trillion, according to sources close to the project. It’s intended to house 5 million people and feature a high-speed train running under the buildings, vertical farming, a sports stadium, and a yacht marina, according to The Journal.
—The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 23, 2022
The Mirror Line is part of plan for a linear community that was previously announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who directed officials to create something on the scale of the pyramids of Egypt.
Neom — a futuristic megacity development the size of Massachusetts and located on the Red Sea — has been in the works for years. Blueprints previously obtained by The Journal revealed plans for artificial rain, a fake moon, robotic maids, and holographic teachers.
Saudi Arabia has hoped to raise foreign funds to go towards the development, but the kingdom has been largely boycotted by the West after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. However, Saudi Arabia’s status as a pariah state was tossed aside earlier this month when President Joe Biden met with the crown prince.