Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman dreams big, and he also has the wealth to beat the big drum. The prince has engaged an American PR agency and some of the world’s best architects to create the animations that now make many people roll their eyes. People who have worked with design for Hollywood productions are said to have been recruited, writes Bloomberg. Few details about the project are known, but this week there were some new pictures that gave a little more insight into the plans. According to the plan, the building will accommodate nine million people and has been named “The Line”. Two large constructions that are 500 meters high face each other, and will stretch over 170 kilometers. The prince of Saudi Arabia has obtained world-renowned architects and engaged an American PR agency to help develop “the line”. According to the plan, there will be neither cars nor roads in the futuristic city. The project will have a price tag of several hundred million dollars. The photos are beautiful, as architectural photos tend to be. But the visions for the future city of Neom are also sensational. The city must be emission-free, have space for 9 million people, lightning trains and its own mountain area where a ski resort will be built. Forced displacement of Bedouin All this is to be built in a part of Saudi Arabia which is today a dry and barren desert. The budget is currently around NOK 4,800 billion, according to Bloomberg. The large-scale project stands in contrast to much of what Saudi Arabia has made rich on. Because the project must be green and free of greenhouse gas emissions. Just like in Norway, Saudi Arabia has produced fossil energy, and they are also major consumers of fossil sources. So that Neom should be green is a contrast to the situation in the country today. – Mohammed bin Salman wants to show the world that Saudi Arabia can and will make it happen. Also building a green image by not using fossil energy. He is busy building an image that Saudi Arabia is an offensive country when it comes to green technology, says Ina Tin of Amnesty International Norway. Mohammed bin Salman is only 36 years old, but high up in Saudi Arabia because of his inherited power. He has big visions for the Neom project. Photo: Handout. / Reuters She is not as enthusiastic about the plans as Prince Mohammed bin Salman is, and cites several reasons why the project is problematic. One is that people already lived in the areas where the gigantic project is to be built. Now several of them are forced to move. – Bedouins live there, and there has been a dispute over land rights. Bedouins have been displaced. And in that context, there is a reported murder by the security forces of one of the leaders who protested against the displacement, says Tin. In addition, Al Jazeera has reported on several people who have been arrested after protesting the forced relocation. Ina Tin is a senior adviser at Amnesty, and closely follows human rights in Saudi Arabia. Photo: Audun Braastad / NTB scanpix Foreign workers Tin also indicates that foreign workers will most likely be used to get everything that is planned to be built built. And Saudi Arabia is not a country where workers’ rights are particularly strong. – It is common to have an odd power relationship between employee and employer. The governing authorities say that reforms are on the way, but until the opposite is proven, there is reason to criticize, says Tin. Magnificent pictures were published this week. Photo: AFP She points out that the kafala system has long been in force in Saudi Arabia, as it has also been in Qatar, where many of those who have built the World Cup stadium have been exposed to undignified and dangerous working conditions. The Kafala system is designed to obtain cheap labour, and give the employer great control over the workers. Fears large-scale surveillance Ho is also skeptical of the high-tech society that Saudi Arabia boasts of. Artificial intelligence, robots and high-tech solutions sound modern and attractive. But in the face of Saudi Arabia, such technology can also have a dark side. – There will be a strong control of all residents of Neom. They will be monitored and controlled 24 hours a day. This is how it looks in parts of Neom today. The photo was taken during the Paris-Dakar car race, which passed through Saudi Arabia in 2021. Photo: FRANCK FIFE / AFP The project has already been going on for several years, and although there are few – and perhaps no – photos of how the work is progressing , then construction must be underway. But it must also have been a lot of trouble for the prince. Several of those who have been employed in the project have resigned from their jobs. They have complained about a toxic working environment and an enormous overspending of money that does not particularly produce results, writes Bloomberg. news has not been successful in getting an answer from the Saudi Arabian embassy.
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The future dreams of Saudi Arabia’s prince may have a high human price – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
