Neom – a futuristic eco-city in desert

Glow-in-the dark beaches. Billions of trees planted in a country dominated by the desert. Levitating trains. A fake moon. A car-free, carbon-free city built in a straight line over 100 miles long in the desert. These are some of the plans for Neom - a futuristic eco-city that is part of Saudi Arabia's pivot to go green.

Neom claims to be a "blueprint for tomorrow in which humanity progresses without compromise to the health of the planet". It's a $500bn (£366bn) project, part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan.

Covering a total area of over 26,500 sq-km (10,230 sq-miles) - larger than Kuwait or Israel - Neom will, developers claim, exist entirely outside the confines of the current Saudi judicial system, governed by an autonomous legal system that will be drafted up by investors.

Ali Shihabi, a former banker now on Neom's advisory board, says the mega-territory will include a 170km (105m) long city, called The Line, which will run in a straight line through the desert.

Much like Barcelona's traffic-free "superblocks", he explains that each square will be self-sufficient and contain amenities such as shops and schools so that anything people need will be a five-minute walk or cycle away.

When complete, travel along The Line will be via hyper-speed trains, with the longest journey "never more than 20 minutes", the developers claim.

What's more, Neom will be home to Oxagon, a city floating on water spanning 7km (4.3 miles) - making it the largest floating structure in the world. Neom's chief executive, Nadhmi al-Nasr, has said the port city will "welcome its first manufacturing tenants at the beginning of 2022".