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Newly released footage shows work underway on 's ambitious smart city project, The Line.

The images released by aerial photography company Ot Sky reveal a long linear trench being dug in the northwestern Tabuk province.

The trench will hold the foundations of the city, which is planned to be 170 kilometres long.

First announced in January 2021,ÌýThe Line will be the centrepiece ofÌý, a planned mega-economic zone along the Red Sea.

Promotional videos released by Saudi Arabia have described The Line as being part of theÌý"revolution of civilisation".

Tireless work on Neom. That trench you see for the spine is dug at a length of 170km 🥹

— ﮼ابوخالد (@AzeezLazez)

Most of NEOM is meant to be completed by 2025, as per the timelineÌýset byÌýSaudi Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plan to wean the Saudi economy off of oil by the end of this decade.

´¡ÌýWall Street JournalÌýreport in July, however, said thatÌýan initial impact assessment of The Line estimated that construction could take 50 years.

NEOM employees have also raised concerns that people may not want to live in a vertical cityÌýfollowing the Covid-19 pandemic,Ìýand that the size of The Line could impactÌýgroundwater flow in desert wadis and restrict the movement of animals.

The NEOM project drew criticism from rights groups after it was revealed that residents of the area of the new megacity were offered compensation "".

In April 2020, Saudi activist Abdul-Rahman al-Huweiti of the Huweitat tribe wasÌýÌýwhile "resisting eviction".

Earlier this week, three men who were forcibly removed from the construction area were sentenced to death, according to human rights group ALQST.Ìý