RIYADH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia on Sunday launched THE LINE project in its futuristic city NEOM, to ensure humans and nature live in harmony as it's free of cars, streets and carbon emission.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz announced the project as "a revolution in urban living" in NEOM, and a blueprint for how people and planet can co-exist in harmony, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
THE LINE, a 170-km belt of hyper-connected future communities, without cars and roads and built around nature, is a direct response to pollution and other environment-related challenges, he said.
The communities will be powered by artifical intelligence, which is designed to learn and make the life of local residents easier.
The crown prince revealed that THE LINE is a city of 1 million residents, which preserves 95 percent of the nature within NEOM.
This is the first time in 150 years that a major urban development project that has been designed around people, not roads. Walkability will define life on THE LINE - all essential daily services, such as schools, medical clinics, leisure facilities, as well as green spaces, will be within a five-minute walk.
The project, which is expected to create 380,000 jobs, will contribute up to 48 billion U.S dollars to Saudi gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.
NEOM, located in the northwest of the kingdom, is part of the world-class, diversified portfolio invested by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. Enditem
