Saudi Arabia’s ambitious projects have faced criticism following reports that officers were ordered to k!ll residents on land designated for developments.
The new resort will be centered around a vast marina featuring 700 luxury villas and 500 apartments. Each villa will have waterfront access and a private mooring for yachts along the Gulf of Aqaba. The complex, part of Saudi’s ambitious Neom initiative, will also include two hotels with 350 suites. The £1.2 trillion project aims to host the world’s largest and most luxurious superyachts, showcasing Saudi wealth.
A 1.5-kilometer aerofoil will protect billionaire’s boats and serve as a central hub in the marina. The plans also include entertainment, leisure facilities, and an international boarding school. Jaumur is another ambitious and controversial initiative, part of the Vision 2030 plan spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017. The mega city is expected to be completed by the end of the decade.
The project includes the controversial Line, a 110-mile-long, 200-meter-wide megastructure designed to function as its own city. Located near the Red Sea, it will feature a floating industrial center and its own port. Additionally, Saudi Arabia plans to build Trojena, a mountainous ski resort set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, and an airport to connect the city to the rest of the world.
The project has faced intense international criticism due to reported plans to k!ll residents to make way for the $500 billion city. A former Saudi intelligence officer alleged he was instructed to use “lethal force” against any “rebels” who refused to vacate their homes. The land where the Line is being built was previously occupied by local tribes, and their homes were demolished after Saudi forces cleared the area. Colonel Rabih Alenezi told the BBC he was ordered to evict villagers to make way for the horizontal skyscraper.
He claimed that one villager was shot and killed during the clearance mission for protesting the evictions. The Line is intended to be the first development in the new urban area, which the kingdom hopes will add $48 billion to the country’s GDP, as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 program. Originally planned to stretch 170 kilometers—from the mountains of Neom across desert valleys to the Red Sea—and to tower 500 meters above sea level while only being 200 meters wide, the plans were dramatically scaled back. The Line is now expected to be only 1.5 miles long by 2030, rather than the previously envisioned ten miles.
Crown Prince Bin Salman once referred to the area designated for Neom as the ideal “blank canvas.”
However, the Saudi government has acknowledged that over 6,000 people have been relocated for the project. Recent satellite images of the villages Al-Khuraybah, Sharma, and Gayal—mainly inhabited by the Huwaitat tribe—revealed a cleared area in April where homes, schools, and hospitals had existed just a few years prior.