Plans for a futuristic 170km-long walled city in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert are changing as they go. Will the trillion-dollar mega-project be realized? In 2017, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled one of the world’s most ambitious construction projects – the vertical city The Line. The concept envisioned a continuous structure 170km long, 500 metres high and just 200 metres wide. The project’s announced cost is $500 billion, but bankers and analysts say the costs will be much higher. Sources close to the project say the first 2.5 kilometers of the pipeline alone will cost more than $100 billion, with the total cost likely to exceed $2 trillion, more than the GDP of Brazil. To help make it all happen, Saudi Arabia has commissioned a new $190 million concrete plant that will be able to produce up to 20,000 cubic meters of concrete a day, much of which will go to the line and the rest to other Neom projects. In addition, more than 100,000 workers are busy hauling away vast amounts of earth 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to make way for its massive foundations. Work on the foundation piles is also ongoing, with about 1,000 of the more than 30,000 piles installed so far. In addition, the project currently uses one-fifth of all the steel produced in the world, which is an incredible statistic. However, in 2024, Western media reported that the project would be scaled down: the length of the building would be reduced by 70 times, and the number of residents by 30 times. What went wrong? In addition to The Line, Neom plans to build an industrial area, winter sports infrastructure, a seaside resort on the island, an entertainment center, and hotels. The final investment in the development of Neom is unknown, but analysts estimate that the amount will be at least 2 trillion. Saudi Arabia planned to complete part of the work by 2030 and settle 1-1.5 million people there. The Saudis began construction in 2023. Google satellite images for 2024 show that excavation work is ongoing on a straight section of more than 150 km, involving hundreds of pieces of equipment. In February 2024, Neom published a video of the work from above, calling it the largest such operation in history. However, in the spring, rumors spread that large-scale work had been stopped and construction would be localized on a smaller section. The reason for the reduction of the project is a lack of funds. Instead of the planned $500 billion, the builders have only $15-20 billion. The drop in oil prices has significantly reduced contributions to the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the Public Investment Fund has not yet approved Neom's budget for 2024. According to the latest data, the length of the The Line will be reduced from 170 km to 2.4 km, the height and width will not change. In a city of this size, 300 thousand people will be able to work and relax.