The Line is part of Neom, the kingdom's ambitious megacity project. Linear living is an "ambitious but hardly revolutionary" concept, one expert says.

Saudi Arabia has scaled back lofty ambitions for its NEOM gigaproject to prioritize completing elements essential to hosting global sporting events over the next decade as rising costs weigh, three sources told Reuters a day after the sudden departure of the project's longtime CEO.

The futuristic city is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to create new engines of economic growth beyond oil. But some of the schemes have had to be scaled back due to rising costs.