Saudi megacity a death trap for birds, conservationists warn

Experts have warned that a £1-trillion megacity due to be built in Saudi Arabia will pose a deadly barrier for millions of birds migrating through the desert.

Saudi Arabia says 'The Line' will stretch as two parallel, mirror-fronted skyscrapers across 160 km in the north-west of the kingdom and reaching the Red Sea. It is planned as an 'unprecedented living experience', which the kingdom claims will preserve 'surrounding nature'.

'The Line' will stretch for 160 km across the desert from the Red Sea, creating a potentially deadly barrier for migrating birds (NEOM).

Visible in satellite images, construction of The Line has already started. The Saudi kingdom has called the project a 'civilisation revolution' but the megacity has been listed as one of the 15 most urgent conservation issues to monitor in 2024.

Professor William Sutherland, director of research for zoology at Cambridge University, said: "Birds flying into tall windows is a serious problem, and this is a building that is 500 m high going across Saudi Arabia, with windmills on top."

He added: "It's also kind of like a mirror so you don't really see it. So unless they do something about it, there's a serious risk that there could be lots of damage to migratory birds."

The globally Endangered Saker Falcon and Egyptian Vulture migrate through Saudi Arabia, alongside a huge range of other bird species, amounting to an estimated 2.1 million individuals each autumn.

Glass or mirror-fronted buildings are a well-known threat to birds, with as many as 1 billion killed in collisions with buildings every year in the US.

A project spokesperson said studies are "underway with international partners to understand animal and bird migration patterns and to assess how these can be mitigated."

Flying taxis and robot assistants are included in the plans for the 200-m-wide megacity, which planners term 'Zero Gravity Urbanism' as a move against urban sprawl. In his 2022 presentation on the project, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said The Line would feature high-speed rail as a total replacement for cars.

A promotional video released by Saudi Arabia suggests that 9 million people could live along The Line, which forms part of the wider 'NEOM' urban project. This is part of the kingdom's ambition to host 100 million people in all by 2040.