Even if only a fraction of what is planned gets implemented in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM smart city project, it may still provide a huge boost to the country’s high-tech ecosystem. Robert Mogielnicki, senior resident scholar at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, says: “If you click through all the different components of the NEOM website, what you see is the tip of the iceberg concerning the project’s evolution over the past few years.

Many of the new companies and initiatives have a strong technology focus. Whether they develop renewable energy, autonomous vehicles or Industry 4.0 infrastructure, they will certainly rely on computer and communications technologies – and a lot of it will come from exports brought in from outside the region. In many cases, technology will have to be used in new ways to support some of the more imaginative parts of the project, such as a world-class ski resort in the desert or a city perched high up that needs an adequate supply of desalinated water.

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