Saudi Arabia Will Build Skyscrapers Worth Rp14 trillion
- Aljazeera
VIVA – Saudi Arabia will start an ambitious plan to build the world's largest skyscraper structure, in the kingdom's northwest. This structure is estimated to cost US$1 trillion or Rp14 quadrilion.
As quoted from a report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), after viewing hundreds of pages of classified planning documents that revealed for the first time the layout for the plan.
The second structure, known as The Mirror Line building, will consist of two large reflective glass buildings up to a height of 488 meters. The Mirror Line will consist of two 1,600-foot buildings running parallel to each other across 75 miles of desert, coastal and mountainous landscape.
The two buildings will be connected via a walkway, and a high-speed train running underneath. After completion of construction, it is projected to accommodate five million people and can travel from end to end in 20 minutes.
The documents seen date from 2021, and cover concept designs such as an integrated vertical farm, a marina for yachts, and a sports stadium built up to 305 meters above the ground.
The structure is the centerpiece of Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman's zero-carbon smart city project called Neom.
Neom was built by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and is part of a framework called Saudi Vision 2030, a plan that seeks to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy and reduce its dependence on oil.
While the deadline for building Neom is 2030, The Wall Street Journal reports that the initial impact assessment of the construction begins in January 2021.
The Saudi Arabian government says that construction should be built in stages, and could take 50 years to complete.
The initial design of The Mirror Line was by US-based Morphosis Architects, which was founded by Pritzker Architecture Award winner Thom Mayne, and involved at least nine other design and engineering consultants.