Be honest, on a rating between one and 10, how much would it shock you if you heard that a turtle-shaped superyacht called Pangeos—which was basically a floating city inspired by a lost civilisation—was set to be constructed in Saudi Arabia? That’s right, it would be about three, wouldn’t it? Such is the scale and wild imagination currently on show in the Kingdom as part of its Vision 2030.
To be clear, this isn’t actually happening. At least not yet. However, the Kingdom has been identified by the project—designed and proposed by Rome’s Lazzarini Design Studio—as a potential site for the terayacht (a vessel larger than a super, mega, and even gigayacht).
At a proposed size of 550-metres long and 610-metres wide, if built Pangeos would beat the world’s current largest yacht, Azzam, owned by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. But let’s be honest, this isn’t a yacht… it’s a city. Featuring space for hotels, malls, parks, cinemas and a whole host of other public spaces. Current figures offered by Lazzarini claim it would be able to hold 60,000 guests at any one time.
Now that you’ve been whipped into a terayacht-that’s-actually-a-city frenzy, the bad news. The project is still very much in the conceptual phase, Lazzarini hopes that construction could start in 2033, with a build time of eight years and a cost of around $8bn. That’s right, this turtle does not come cheap.
If this sounds like something for you, get involved via a crowdfunding initiative which allows you to buy anything from a virtual entrance ticket ($16) to a VIP apartment ($169) via NFT. Although, admittedly, that feels a long road to amassing $8bn. Little acorns, and all that.
The final challenge lies in location. While Lazzarini has claimed that Saudi Arabia might be an appropriate location, it’s estimated that approximately one square kilometre of sea space would need to be dredged to begin construction, with a circular dam also required to control water levels at the site. Not one to be deterred, Lazzarini has identified a site at King Abdullah Port, on the Red Sea coast, as a possible location for the massive turtle. Keep your eyes peeled.