Saudi Arabia is investing an unprecedented amount of money in tourism, and also in diversifying its economy away from oil. I’ve been watching this with great interest, as we’ve never seen a project to this scale before, and many have wondered just how realistic some of these ambitions are. I’m also just generally interested in planned projects like this, as it’s amazing how often they fail.
Saudi Arabia’s single most ambitious project is The Line, and it looks like this is now facing its biggest challenge to date. While we’ve seen the project scaled back and delayed in the past, we’re now seeing work reportedly stop for the coming years. Let’s start with a bit of background, and then get into the latest.
Semafor now reports that construction on The Line has been suspended completely, and won’t resume until after 2030 (thanks to View from the Wing for flagging this). As a reminder, that’s the year when the project was supposed to be done, and Saudi Arabia has also been all about its “Vision 2030” concept. This change comes as the PIF is instead prioritizing investing in infrastructure, like ports and data centers.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
