A vast mega-city is rising from the Saudi Arabian desert, 30 times larger than New York, built with a mixture of concrete, steel and unbridled ambition.
Part financial hub, part technology lab, part futuristic playground, Neom is slated to become the innovation capital of the world, according to its creators, striding both East and West.
The initial budget is huge — $US500 billion — and as a pet project of Saudi Arabia's young ruler, Mohammed bin Salman it's backed by the vast wealth of the House of Saud.
"It will attract the best minds and the best projects and be an accelerator for human progress, that's what they are calling it, and that line has been repeatedly trotted out," says journalist and Saudi Arabia watcher Bill Bostock, who writes for Business Insider.
"Some of the lines have fallen away, but that 'accelerator of human progress' line is really at the forefront."
Saudi Arabia'''s Neom development wants to be an '''accelerator for human progress'''. Will it happen? - ABC News
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