Col Rabih Alenezi says he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Gulf state to make way for The Line, part of the Neom eco-project.

One of them was subsequently shot and killed for protesting against eviction.

The Saudi government and Neom management refused to comment.

Neom, Saudi Arabia’s $500bn (£399bn) eco-region, is part of its Saudi Vision 2030 strategy which aims to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil.

Its flagship project, The Line, has been pitched as a car-free city, just 200m (656ft) wide and 170km (106 miles) long - though only 2.4km of the project is reportedly expected to be completed by 2030.

  • Addition1291@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    27
    ·
    6 months ago

    All this hardship and money just so they can build a giant glass box in the middle of the fucking desert. Anyone whose spent like 5 minutes in a greenhouse will tell you why that’s a bad idea for a city.

    • ChillPenguin@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      If it even gets built out. I’m expecting this to become a bioshock or escape from LA type situation. Where the city starts off normal but just goes straight to hell.

      • Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        6 months ago

        I’m thinking more “fallout vault dweller” scenario, hundreds of small isolated cities each with their own experiment.