Saudi Arabia's 'insane' $1trillion jungle skyscraper will be 'better than Pyramids'

Saudi Arabia wants to build a 75-mile long city called the Line - Crown Prince bin Salman says he wants it to be as timeless as the Pyramids with a ski resort, flying lifts, and robots

Ciarán Daly Technology reporter

16:14, 27 Jul 2022Updated 16:31, 27 Jul 2022

A handout picture provided by Saudi's NEOM on July 26, 2022 shows the design plan for the 500-metre tall parallel structures, known collectively as The Line, in the heart of the Red Sea megacity NEOM. - A futuristic megacity in Saudi Arabia will feature two massive, mirror-encased skyscrapers that extend over 170 kilometres of desert and mountain terrain, ultimately housing nine million people, the kingdom's de facto ruler has announced. (Photo by NEOM / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NEOM" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by -/NEOM/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia wants to build a bonkers mirror city in the desert - by 2030(Image: NEOM/AFP via Getty Images)

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has announced plans to build an 'insane' 75-mile long skyscraper which he claims will be better than the Pyramids.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the $1 trillion (£830bn) project will feature a floating port city, a commuter swimming lane, an artificial ski resort, and be packed full of AI and robots to serve its residents.

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The project, dubbed 'The Mirror Line', looks like something straight out of the videogame Destiny, with giant mirror-covered glass structures and impossible-looking geometry.

He says it could be ready by 2030 if construction goes according to plan, although that seems highly unlikely given it looks like something out of Blade Runner.

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The building will have a high speed train running underneath it(Image: NEOM/AFP via Getty Images)

The Mirror Line will be part of a huge desert city complex called Neom and span across a mountain range. It will feature 1,600 foot-tall buildings that run in parallel with one another on either side of an artificial river.

Engineers have said it could take 50 years to construct, as it will feature an intricate interior filled with plants, forests, trains, a vertical farm, and even a boat marina powered entirely by renewable energy.

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Residents will be encouraged to pay a subscription to get three meals per day.

The Saudi Crown Prince wants it done by 2030 - good luck with that(Image: NEOM/AFP via Getty Images)

If it ever gets built, the Mirror Line will house 5 million people and feature a sports stadium on stilts.

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Critics have said it will be so tall that it will stop birds and animals migrating because the mirrored walls could confuse them.

The whole 'NEOM' project has also been criticised for human rights abuses after it emerges indigenous tribes were forcibly removed from the land it is being built on, with one resident being shot dead by security forces.

The project will let 1 million people meet within a five minute walk - and travel end-to-end in 20 minutes(Image: NEOM/AFP via Getty Images)

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The project resembles a sci-fi flight of fancy similar to that created by an architecture firm which proposes a giant flying skyscraper that will hang from an asteroid and orbit the Earth all day long.

The Analemma tower would be the 'world's tallest building ever' and dangle from a 22,000 mile long cable in space, with people flying up to it using helicopters and drones.

There is absolutely no way this would ever be possible, and even if it was, it would be incredibly dangerous to most life on Earth.

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