What a Video Shows—and Doesn’t Show—About Saudi Arabia’s Planned 170-km THE LINE

The video shows construction activity associated with Saudi Arabia’s THE LINE, but it does not prove that the full 170-kilometre skyscraper is being built continuously or remains on schedule. The original project was announced as a roughly 200-metre-wide, 500-metre-high linear city designed to accommodate up to nine million people. Those are announced design specifications, not evidence of completion.

The latest status is more uncertain: May 2026 reporting described a delay until at least after 2030 and a significant redesign, while NEOM’s official public language refers to a phased, demand-led approach.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Govivo Bridge Architecture Patent - A Set of Four Bridge Patents Wall Art Decor Prints with blue...	$15.97	Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The video shows real site activity—but not a completed 170-kilometre skyscraper

Footage from the Saudi desert can show genuine construction activity associated with THE LINE, NEOM’s proposed linear city. It may capture excavation, foundations, concrete production, roads, utilities, heavy machinery or other preparation work. What it cannot establish by itself is that Saudi Arabia is continuously erecting a finished 170-kilometre building, or that the project remains on its original schedule.

That distinction matters because the project’s scope and timetable have reportedly changed. A May 22, 2026 report by Semafor said further work on THE LINE had been delayed until at least after 2030 and that the twin mirrored skyscraper concept was being significantly redesigned. NEOM’s own current public description still presents THE LINE as a long-term project using a “phased, demand-led approach,” but does not publish a current percentage for completion of the full 170-kilometre concept.

#1 Best Overall

Govivo Bridge Architecture Patent - A Set of Four Bridge Patents Wall Art Decor Prints with blue backgrounds - unframed artwork printed on photograph paper

• GREAT WALL DECOR IDEA for a den, living room, dorm room, office and many more! It will also look good on the walls of a engineering, architectural or construction firm.
• HIGH QUALITY PRINTS that are cool birthday, housewarming or holiday gifts to give your friends and relatives who love bridges or are engineers or architects, or are simply amazed by these engineering marvels.
• UNIQUE & EYE-CATCHING - This 4-piece set of unframed bridge engineering patents wall art decor prints makes an interesting design statement and adds character anywhere it is displayed.
• GREATER LONGEVITY - Printed on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper for a lifetime of enjoyment.
• READY TO BE FRAMED - One unframed 8x10-inch art print will arrive, packaged flat in a protective envelope. A frame is NOT included in your purchase.

$15.97

Buy on Amazon

The most accurate reading of the video is therefore: it records construction activity at one moment in a much larger megaproject whose final design, schedule and priorities are no longer settled.

What THE LINE was originally supposed to be

THE LINE is one component of NEOM, the wider Saudi Arabian regional development program. It is not synonymous with NEOM as a whole. NEOM also encompasses other proposed urban, industrial, energy, transport and technology developments.

The original THE LINE vision was presented as a linear, car-free city organized around short distances, high-speed connectivity, sustainability and technological innovation. Instead of conventional low-density urban sprawl, the concept placed homes, workplaces, services and cultural destinations within a compact, vertically layered structure.

The headline specifications attached to that announced design were:

Calling THE LINE a “170-kilometre skyscraper” is convenient headline shorthand, but it can mislead. The proposal was described as a linear urban system with two mirrored outer faces and multiple layers of city infrastructure—not as one ordinary tower standing in isolation. The numbers above should always be attributed to the originally announced design.

What a construction video can actually prove

A progress video is useful evidence, but only within a limited frame. It can document what was visible at the place and time of filming. It cannot automatically verify the entire project’s route, schedule or final form.

Activity the footage may legitimately show

• Large-scale excavation and earthmoving.
• Foundation or substructure work.
• Concrete batching, reinforcement and other construction support operations.
• Temporary or permanent access roads.
• Utilities, drainage and site infrastructure.
• Heavy equipment operating across a defined work zone.
• Transport infrastructure intended to serve a future development area.

Those are meaningful signs of a functioning construction site. They are not interchangeable with visible completion of the proposed vertical city. Megaprojects commonly require years of surveying, grading, foundation work, logistics, utilities and transport construction before the final above-ground architecture is recognizable.

Four claims the clip cannot establish on its own

1. It cannot establish continuous construction across 170 kilometres. A camera normally shows one work front or a small number of locations. Activity in one segment is not evidence that the full route is under construction.
2. It cannot turn earthworks into vertical completion. Excavation, foundations and concrete plants may support a future building, but they do not prove that the announced 500-metre form is being erected.
3. It cannot prove the original design is unchanged. If the structure is being redesigned, older footage may show work connected to an earlier configuration.
4. It cannot prove the project is on schedule. The capture date, publication date and date of the reader’s article are three different things.

The exact capture date of the video should be added if the original publisher, metadata or accompanying documentation provides it. Until then, it is safer to describe the material as dated footage or footage published at an earlier time, rather than as a live picture of THE LINE’s status in 2026.

Why the date changes the story

Earlier progress videos were made when NEOM’s public messaging emphasized the scale and speed of THE LINE. Later reporting has introduced a major qualification to that narrative.

On May 22, 2026, Semafor reported that further work on THE LINE had been delayed until at least after 2030. The report also described a significant redesign of the twin mirrored skyscraper concept. It said that priorities connected to NEOM’s sovereign owner had shifted toward ports, utilities, data connectivity and data centres, and that NEOM’s 2030 population target had fallen to up to 100,000.

Those reported changes do not mean an authoritative cancellation has been announced. They do mean that the original 170-kilometre, nine-million-person configuration and its earlier timetable should not be presented as settled facts.

NEOM’s own current public wording is more cautious. THE LINE remains part of its long-term vision, but the organization describes development as phased and demand-led. That language leaves room for an initial section, revised scale or altered sequencing; it does not confirm that the original full-length concept is advancing unchanged.

A contractor disclosure provides a separate infrastructure warning

There is also a dated contractor-side signal about supporting infrastructure. On May 21, 2026, Webuild said that NEOM had exercised its right to terminate the Connector High-Speed Line contract, with termination effective May 27. Webuild said the works had already been suspended and had reached approximately 20% progress.

This is relevant because transport infrastructure is part of the system needed to support a development on THE LINE’s scale. However, the figure must be used precisely:

• The reported 20% refers to the Connector High-Speed Line contract.
• It is not a measurement of the THE LINE building or its foundations.
• The contract’s termination is not proof that every NEOM project stopped.
• It is evidence that at least one major supporting-infrastructure commitment was being re-evaluated in 2026.

Combining the Webuild disclosure with the reported delay and redesign creates a more complete picture than the video alone. The site was not imaginary: substantial construction-related work took place. But construction activity, supporting infrastructure and the final city concept should be tracked as separate questions.

The difference between NEOM and THE LINE

Many headlines use “NEOM” and “THE LINE” as if they describe the same project. They do not.

NEOM is the broader regional development and investment program. THE LINE is its flagship linear-city proposal. A road, rail line, utility network, port, data facility or industrial project may be associated with NEOM without being part of the THE LINE structure itself.

This distinction prevents two common errors. First, work elsewhere in the NEOM region should not automatically be described as progress on the 170-kilometre city. Second, a pause or contract termination affecting one component should not automatically be reported as the cancellation of all NEOM development.

Who was working on the design?

In November 2024, NEOM announced that DMAA, Gensler and Mott MacDonald would work with THE LINE’s design and development teams on urban planning, design and infrastructure for the initial phase.

That announcement identifies them as publicly named participants in the initial phase. It should not be stretched into a claim that every earlier consultant or appointment remains active after the subsequent reported review, delay and redesign. Large projects can change their design teams, scopes and contracts as funding priorities and construction phases change.

How to judge a new THE LINE progress video

Readers can test a dramatic progress claim by asking the following questions before treating it as a project update.

1. When was it filmed?

Look for the original upload, drone metadata, dated construction reports or an official caption. A video reposted in 2026 may have been recorded months or years earlier.

2. Where is the work?

A credible update should identify the work front, segment, access road, facility or coordinates. “Across the Saudi desert” is not enough to establish that the entire planned route is active.

3. What type of work is visible?

Distinguish grading and excavation from foundations, foundations from structural steel or concrete, and supporting infrastructure from the main city structure. The more specific the description, the less likely it is to overstate the evidence.

4. Is the footage promotional?

Official promotional footage may accurately show the material filmed while still selecting the most advanced or visually impressive work areas. It is not an independent audit of the entire project.

5. Is there independent corroboration?

Dated aerial or satellite imagery, contractor filings, procurement notices, planning documents and on-site reporting can help establish whether work continued, paused or changed. Even then, each source should be tied to a specific location and date.

6. Does the claim describe the announced design or the revised one?

A rendering or earlier construction sequence may relate to the original 170-kilometre concept. After the reported redesign, it is unsafe to assume that visible work will become part of the final version exactly as first advertised.

The architecture behind the headline

THE LINE’s appeal lies in the contrast between an enormous physical structure and the promise of a compact daily life. The original vision proposed that residents could reach essential services quickly, while the city’s vertical organization would reduce conventional horizontal sprawl. Its public pitch combined urban density, car-free movement, clean-energy goals, automation and dramatic architecture.

That is a design proposition, not a current operating reality. The announced capacity of nine million people does not mean nine million residents are present, and the sustainability claims describe intended performance rather than independently demonstrated results from a completed city.

For readers interested in the architectural context rather than a project-status guide, Contemporary Architecture in Saudi Arabia is an illustrated survey that includes NEOM and THE LINE alongside other contemporary Saudi projects. It should be treated as an architecture reference, not as an official NEOM publication or an independent source confirming construction progress. Availability and marketplace details should be checked before purchase.

What can safely be said about the project now?

A careful summary has five parts:

1. THE LINE was originally announced as a 170-kilometre-long, approximately 200-metre-wide and 500-metre-high linear city.
2. Its planned capacity of up to nine million people was an aspirational design figure.
3. Dated footage and historical reporting show real construction-related activity at parts of the wider site.
4. That activity does not prove that the complete 170-kilometre structure was being built continuously or was on schedule.
5. As of the May 2026 reporting cited here, the project had reportedly been delayed until at least after 2030 and was subject to significant redesign, while NEOM’s official public description remained phased and demand-led.

It is not accurate to call the project completed or nearly completed. It is also too strong to call it cancelled without an authoritative cancellation statement. The evidence supports a more measured conclusion: an ambitious megaproject moved from promotional concept toward real site works, then encountered a reported strategic reset that makes its original scale and timetable uncertain.

Bottom line

The video captures a real moment of construction activity, but it does not prove that Saudi Arabia is building the originally announced 170-kilometre skyscraper as planned. THE LINE’s dimensions and nine-million-person capacity belong to its original public concept. The May 2026 reporting about a post-2030 delay and redesign, together with the termination of a suspended supporting rail contract, means every new clip should be dated, geographically identified and separated from claims about the project’s ultimate future.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is THE LINE really a 170-kilometre skyscraper?

No. The 170-kilometre length, approximately 200-metre width and 500-metre height describe the originally announced THE LINE concept. A video of work at one location cannot prove that a continuous structure of that size is being built.

How much of THE LINE has been built?

There is no current full-length completion percentage in NEOM’s public description. A Webuild disclosure said the Connector High-Speed Line had reached approximately 20% before its already-suspended contract was terminated; that figure applies to supporting rail infrastructure, not to THE LINE’s building.

Has Saudi Arabia cancelled THE LINE?

Not on the evidence cited here. A May 22, 2026 Semafor report said further work had been delayed until at least after 2030 and that the mirrored skyscraper concept was being significantly redesigned. NEOM continues to describe THE LINE as a long-term, phased and demand-led project. That indicates uncertainty and change, not an authoritative cancellation.

What is the difference between NEOM and THE LINE?

NEOM is the wider regional development program. THE LINE is one of its flagship projects: the proposed linear city with the 170-kilometre headline design. Work on another NEOM component should not automatically be counted as progress on THE LINE.

The Bottom Line

Bottom line: The footage is evidence of construction activity at a particular site and time—not proof of a continuously advancing, completed or unchanged 170-kilometre skyscraper. THE LINE’s original dimensions remain announced design specifications, while its reported 2026 delay, redesign and infrastructure review make the final scope and schedule uncertain.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1

Govivo Bridge Architecture Patent - A Set of Four Bridge Patents Wall Art Decor Prints with blue backgrounds - unframed artwork printed on photograph paper

GREATER LONGEVITY - Printed on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper for a lifetime of enjoyment.

$15.97

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.