NEOM pauses The Line construction until 2030, shifts focus to Oxagon

Work on The Line and Trojena in Saudi Arabia's NEOM has been halted until at least 2030, as resources are being shifted to Oxagon, a port city located south of The Line along the Red Sea. This decision, made by the newly appointed CEO Aiman al-Mudaifer, may involve adapting current infrastructure for data centers and is associated with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, enhancing Oxagon's role as a trade route hub. NEOM has committed $3 billion to Oxagon, which is designed as an eight-sided, 40-acre floating city, touted as the largest of its kind globally. In 2023, Bjarke Ingels Group was appointed as the master planner. Last year, Andre Kikoski Architect finished a greenhouse at Oxagon for NEOM's food company, Topian. Plans for The Line have been reduced from accommodating 1.5 million residents over 105 miles to 100,000 residents over just 1.5 miles by 2030. Since 2017, under Vision 2030, NEOM has encountered controversy due to reports of over 21,000 deaths among Indian, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese workers in Saudi Arabia.