On January 10, 2024, a TikTok video revealed the first computer-generated images of Aquellum. This city of the future, worthy of a science fiction film, aims to be a formidable showcase for Saudi Arabia… But at what cost?
Imagine a luxurious and ultramodern city, dug into the mountain, which could be accessed by boat from the world’s first floating marina, via an underground canal… Such is the ambition of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It is part of his gigantic Neom megalopolis project, which will encompass several cities of the future over an area of approximately 26,500 km2, almost as large as Belgium! The XXL works have already started in 2021. The exactions too. The Arte magazine “Le Dessous des images” (Monday, 7:30 p.m.) reveals its dark side…
Futuristic megacity
On paper, Aquellum has everything going for it. “The city will be in the form of a huge 100-meter-high construction, bringing together apartments, hotels, shopping centers, gardens, and various entertainment centers,” explains the Futura Sciences platform. “A dedicated transportation system will allow you to navigate between the different levels of the city.” This “new future” (translation of “Neom”), straight out of the movie “The Fifth Element,” will also include other places of amusement, such as a set of artificial islands, a floating city, or… a ski resort in the middle of the desert! Not very ecological…
Bio degraded
The official Neom website nevertheless boasts of respecting “carbon neutrality”. There is no shortage of grandiloquent arguments. Nor are there any winks to investors. “The megacity will rely heavily on renewable energy, with wind and photovoltaic farms and large-scale energy storage systems,” the developers guarantee. Pollution? There will be none. “The means of transport will be autonomous and ecological. The buildings will remain immaculate thanks to pure and fresh air.” Not convinced? Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has an infallible technique for persuading the most skeptical.
Human sacrifices
“Torture, death sentences, prison sentences…” The investigation “The Dark Side of Neom”, by Lina al-Hathloul, a Saudi activist exiled in Brussels, is edifying. It highlights “serious human rights violations. Which does not prevent many European companies, attracted by the financial windfall of 500 billion dollars that Neom represents, from participating in the project”. To these accusations, His Highness MBS retorts that “in Neom, there is no one in the desert”. This is without counting the 20,000 Bedouins of the Howeitat tribe who have lived there for centuries… Those who opposed the expropriation of their land are at best in prison, at worst assassinated. Like Abdoul Rahim Ahmed al-Howeiti, very (too?) active on social networks to denounce this “generalized dispossession”.
Not enough to tarnish the beautiful picture promised by the city with its watercolor-like appearance. “The first phase of the Dantesque project should be completed by 2025,” specifies Futura Sciences. This bodes well for mountains to be moved…
