News

Saudi Arabia Reveals Plans To Build The City Of The Future

Dubbed “The Line”, Saudi Arabia’s radical new pedestrianized city will be carbon and emission-free, contributing $48 billion to the economy and creating 380,000 jobs.

Published

4 years ago

August 4, 2022

Nour Nasir

saudi arabia reveals plans to build the city of the future

NEOM

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced plans for radical new city development in the northwest of the country, in a section of desert close to the Red Sea. The city will run entirely on renewable energy and eventually be home to around 9 million people.

Yet, the real eye-opener of this futuristic metropolis is the design of the city’s buildings themselves, or should we say, “building”, as the city will be called “The Line” and comprise a single, massive wall-like structure that will extend for 170km, while standing 200 meters wide and 500 meters tall. If everything goes to plan, this single-building city will easily break the record for the world’s largest building.

saudi arabia neom the line

The massive development is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s NEOM project, which plans to turn a remote area of the country into a high-tech semi-autonomous state. The plan hopes to attract foreign investment and eventually usher Saudi Arabia into a post-oil economy.

saudi arabia neom the line inner

Technical details about the project are scarce. However, there’s no denying the plans look impressive: A recently released video shows a striking mirrored glass facade, three-dimensional living, plenty of green spaces, and multi-level walkways, with high-speed travel that connects each end of the structure in just 20 minutes.

Despite inspirational taglines such as “a civilizational revolution that puts humans first”, the scheme has attracted criticism, with some architects finding the design a little too dystopian for their tastes. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that The Line will embody “Zero Gravity Urbanism” and has issued a statement about his ambitious project:

“The designs revealed today for the city’s vertically layered communities will challenge the traditional flat, horizontal cities and create a model for nature preservation and enhanced human livability.”

Also Read: Lebanon Preparing To Build New $70 Million Airport Terminal

So when can we hope to see the foundations laid on this futuristic project? So far, the NEOM project has received $500 billion in backing from the Saudi Arabia government and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Plans were initially scheduled for 2025 but have since been postponed by another 5 years, though officials insist the project remains on track.

News

Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform

Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.

Published

6 days ago

May 5, 2026

Joanna Melki

lebanon ministers meet visa over national digital payment platform

Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.

The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.

The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.

Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.

Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.

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Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.

“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.

Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.