First images of work on extraordinary £800billion 110-mile ‘land-scraper’ as construction begins in Saudi Arabia

AMAZING drone footage shows the start of work on the 110-mile-long lateral skyscraper dubbed “The Line” in Saudi Arabia.

The project worth hundreds of billions of pounds is expected to one day house five million people in one of high-tech megalopolis crossing the desert from the Gulf of Aqaba.

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Drone footage appears to show ‘The Line’ under construction in Saudi Arabia
The plane is destined for a megalopolis nicknamed

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The plane is destined for a megalopolis nicknamed “Earth Scraper”
Earth-moving machinery is underway in the Saudi Arabian desert

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Earth-moving machinery is underway in the Saudi Arabian desert
The diggers move the earth and level the area

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The diggers move the earth and level the area
The project could take up to 50 years to complete

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The project could take up to 50 years to complete

Images published by Saudi drone operators OT Sky and a respected architecture magazine Dezeen shows the foundations of the huge structure.

Countless trucks and earth-moving machines can be seen rumbling around the construction site as they begin work on “Line”.

And in the center is a huge straight trench that stretches across the desert sands.

It is on these foundations that the Saudis dream of building their ambitious project, which is part of the broader framework of the NEOM scheme.

The line will be covered in mirrored glass and will be approximately the size of the US state Massachusetts and taller than the Empire State Building.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed plans for the gigantic structure in January 2021 with the aim of creating the Kingdom’s own version, the pyramids of Egypt.

But planners are questioning the price of the project and whether people would be attracted to life in a confined space after the pandemic.

Prince bin Salman is pushing ahead with the idea of ​​a boondoggle that he called a “civilizational revolution that puts humans first.”

The line will consist of two 1,600-foot-tall buildings running parallel to each other in the desert and will take 50 years to construct.

Reported estimates of the total cost of the project range from £150 billion to £800 billion.

It will be so long that engineers will need spacers to accommodate the curvature of the Earth and it will have its own high-speed rail line and marina.

The gargantuan complex is expected to stretch from the Gulf of Aqaba in the west of the country, across a mountain range and into a desert “aerotropolis”.

The slick structure offers an end-to-end travel time of around 20 minutes and is to be powered by renewable energy.

It will also have miles of greenery and homes and its own farms to feed the more than five million people who are expected to fill it.

Residents will need to have a subscription to access three meals a day.

Prince MBS insists the building will be carbon neutral and have its own stadium 1,000 feet above the ground.

The prince hopes Neom will create thousands of new jobs and wean the country off its dependence on the oil and gas sector to fill state coffers.

International funding for the pie-in-the-sky project has so far struggled to take off as countries boycott Saudi Arabia over its alleged human rights abuses.

Human rights activists have called on Western companies to boycott the development because of the kingdom’s human rights record, particularly since the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.

Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi embassy in the Turkish city before his body was cut up in a crime that has been condemned by world leaders.

The prince denied any involvement.

The development of Neom has also led to the forced eviction of local tribes from the area, according to reports.

“It’s absolutely a disaster and I’m disappointed,” said Alya Alhwaiti, a member of the Huwaitat tribe who is displaced by the project.

His cousin, Abdulrahim al-Huwaiti, was killed trying to demolish his house last year. She now lives in the UK and accused Western companies that joined the project of “not caring about human rights”.

The fantasy city is set to be based partly on land and partly in the Red Sea and is backed by Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion private equity fund.

The city will be on the border with Jordan and Egypt and will start welcoming residents and businesses by 2030, but builders and planners say it could take around 50 years.

They also don’t know if residents would be expected to live in the metal complex after the pandemic, and fear the giant structure will impact animal and bird migration and groundwater flow.

Environmental planners say the building’s mirrored glazing could further confuse birds on their annual migration through the area.

Documents have revealed plans to build robot maids that will clean the homes of these highly paid foreign workers, meaning they won’t have to worry about household chores.

Cloud seeding will also be used to create rain clouds in the incredibly dry country that is the size of Western Europe.

The process involves dumping substances such as dry ice, using aircraft or drones, into clouds to create precipitation.

Some of the other bizarre proposals for the city include “dinosaur robots” in a Jurassic Park-style attraction and “robot martial arts” where machines will fight each other for entertainment.

The kingdom also wants to create a giant artificial moon that will light up every night and serve as a major landmark.

MBS recently said he wanted the city’s proposed Silver Beach sand to “glow” in the dark.

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However, two sources close to the project told the the wall street journal that engineers have yet to find a way to do this safely.

Saudi Arabia announced construction of Neom at the Future Investment Initiative 2017 conference in Riyadh.

Artist's impression of Neom, a futuristic city under construction in Saudi Arabia

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Artist’s impression of Neom, a futuristic city under construction in Saudi Arabia
The project is funded by the Crown Prince's $500 billion investment fund and is seeking foreign investors

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The project is funded by the Crown Prince’s $500 billion investment fund and is seeking foreign investorsCredit: Reuters

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