Saudi Arabia Cut Back The Line — But Kept Spending Elsewhere

Saudi Arabia scaled back The Line—but major construction continued elsewhere. If the country is still spending heavily, why did its most famous futuristic city lose priority? This documentary follows the gap between building a city and getting people to use it. We examine The Line's changing plans, the Public Investment Fund's investment priorities, and the different reasons to keep building at NEOM's port, its hydrogen plant, a data center, and Riyadh's World Expo site. Could slowing down simply be sensible phasing? And why doesn't having substantial financial resources automatically put The Line first? The story is about what a wealthy country chooses to build next—and the difference between keeping an ambition alive and making it a near-term priority. The Slipstream | Documentaries about how big systems work. SELECTED SOURCES & FURTHER READING The Line's reduced near-term priority — Reuters, April 15, 2026: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-... NEOM's description of its phased, demand-led approach: https://www.neom.com/en-us/about PIF's 2026–2030 strategy — official announcement: https://www.pif.gov.sa/en/news-and-in... PIF's 2025 financial results — August 17, 2026: https://www.pif.gov.sa/en/news-and-in... Port of NEOM — current operations: https://www.neom.com/en-us/our-busine... NEOM Green Hydrogen Company — construction update, March 26, 2026: https://nghc.com/news/worlds-largest-... Oxagon data center — preliminary framework with Nebius, October 21, 2026: https://www.neom.com/en-us/newsroom/I... Expo 2030 Riyadh — infrastructure and construction update, April 21, 2026: https://www.expo2030riyadh.sa/en/news... #TheLine #NEOM #SaudiArabia