With the launch of The Line – described as a revolution in urban living – early this year, the $500-billion Neom development in Saudi Arabia sent a powerful message to the world that it aims to be a model city of the future.

The road from Tabuk to Neom, often called “Opportunity Road”, is reminiscent of the trail toward a Gold Rush in the old times, and the traffic heading towards Sharma from Tabuk bears testimony to this with heavily laden truck after truck and fully loaded passenger vehicles vastly outnumbering the number heading in the opposite direction