Saudi Arabia is set to build a 75-mile-long skyscraper across the desert as part of its planned NEOM megacity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the "Mirror Line" will have mirrored or reflective walls, and will end in the Red Sea.
Costing a staggering $1 trillion (£833 billion), the 1,600 feet high desert skyscraper will have two parallel structures and associated buildings which together will house five million people. It will have facilities for vertical farming, a yacht marina and a sports stadium, as well as a high speed railway running underneath.
As part of the kingdom's NEOM project, this will be funded primarily by $500 billion allocated through Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The intention is to create a technologically-advanced and eco-friendly megacity that will attract investment and companies from around the world.
At 33 times the size of New York City, it is a futuristic project employing innovations such as flying taxis, an artificial moon and classes taught by hologram teachers. The city is still in development and only officials, workers and planners live on site, but the authorities aim to welcome residents in 2024 and make it home to millions of "Neomians" by 2030.
The grand plan for the Mirror Line prepared by the kingdom and its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, has reportedly been labelled by planners as over-ambitious about the 2030 date. They believe that it could actually take 50 years to build.
