- Saudi Arabia may change its residential plans to an industrial and artificial intelligence focus
- Desert nation investing heavily in GPUs for state-backed AI facilities
- Coastal Access Offers Seawater Cooling Potential for Desert Data Centers
Saudi Arabia’s Neom project, known as “The Line”, was originally described as a linear urban development stretching approximately 170 kilometers across the desert.
The concept envisioned a linear city with extreme density, automated mobility and renewable energy that would accommodate 9 million residents within its narrow footprint.
However, reports now suggest that officials are reconsidering this view after internal reviews revealed delays, rising costs and wider fiscal pressure – and sources cited by the Financial times They say the revised plan may abandon large-scale residential ambitions in favor of much smaller industrial use.
Focus on AI infrastructure and data centers
In this context, planners are reportedly considering the site as a hub for cloud hosting and large-scale data centers designed to support intensive computing workloads.
It will likely prioritize deploying high-density servers for AI training and inference, rather than housing or urban services.
Some accounts suggest that operators would favor basic infrastructure to maximize performance and utilization efficiency.
Saudi Arabia has recently accelerated investment in AI capacity, including acquiring thousands of advanced GPUs for state-backed facilities.
However, Saudi Arabia’s climate poses a well-documented challenge to data center operations, especially given sustained high temperatures and limited freshwater availability.
Independent research has identified the country as one where the majority of existing data centers operate in areas considered inefficient for cooling.
But The Line’s coastal access to the Red Sea offers a practical advantage, and planners propose seawater cooling as a mitigation strategy.
Similar projects, such as xAI’s Colossus in Memphis, have faced scrutiny after satellite checks suggested limits on available electricity or cooling capacity for AI systems.
It’s not yet clear whether the scaled-down data center will reach full capacity, but Saudi Arabia has decided to pause The Line in favor of a smaller plan.
The desert nation has faced increasingly tight liquidity after years of expansive public spending, while lower oil revenues and competitive commitments such as the Expo trade fair and the 2034 World Cup added pressure.
Neom did not directly dispute claims of narrow scope, but instead emphasized gradual development and alignment with national priorities.
This approach suggests flexibility rather than a firm commitment to the original scale or schedule.
Observers note that similar adjustments have already occurred in other Saudi megaprojects.
But without a clear reaffirmation of the original plan, speculation has grown that the linear city model may no longer be at the center of Neom’s short-term strategy.
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