The most expensive construction projects in the world
Contents:
• Construction projects are expensive, and the most ambitious projects can cost billions of rubles or even dollars. Experts from the English construction and engineering company MTX Contracts and the Finch Group, a real estate company, have calculated how much the 10 most expensive construction projects in the world cost.
10. Tunnel under the English Channel (aka Eurotunnel)
• This tunnel stretches for 50 meters, connecting the UK with France. Moreover, 450 kilometers of the tunnel passes under water, which is a record for such structures.
• During the work, the builders seized 8 million cubic meters of rock. The French mixed it with water and sent it back to the sea. But the British created an artificial cape of Shakespeare from the excavated rock, on which they later arranged a park.
• Construction costs were 80% higher than anticipated due to ever-increasing safety and environmental requirements. The project started in 1988 and was completed in 1994.
• According to members of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Eurotunnel is one of the seven wonders of the world today.
9. Great Boston Tunnel
• At the end of the 20th century, Boston, like most of the world's metropolitan areas, suffered from an abundance of cars. The whole city periodically stood in traffic jams. The solution to this problem was the construction of the Big Dig – the "Big Trench" or, according to the official name, the Great Boston Tunnel.
• More than 8 people took part in the construction of the 5000-lane tunnel. It is curious that during the implementation of such a large-scale project, not a single house was destroyed.
• The project was completed on the last day of 2007, ten years behind schedule and costing several million dollars more than expected.
8. Kansai International Airport
One of the the most unusual airports in the world located in the second largest city in Japan, Osaka. It is based on an artificial island, which makes it immune to earthquakes, which are not uncommon in Japan. A three-kilometer bridge connects Kansai with the city.
• Most of the budget was spent on metal support columns and other supporting elements.
7 California high-speed rail
• Construction of the approximately 837 kilometers long high-speed rail in California began in 2015 and was due to be completed in 2020. She was supposed to link Los Angeles with San Francisco. Later, the budget increased to $77 billion, and the construction period was pushed back another 13 years, until 2033.
• However, in 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he was abandoning one of the most expensive construction projects of our time, and will shift all attention to the construction of a 275-kilometer section of the line in the California Valley. In the future, this site may be included in a larger scale project.
6. Songdo International Business District
• It is a "smart city" built from scratch on a 600-hectare alluvial island, 65 km from Seoul. At the moment, it is the largest successful investment project of private investors in real estate. 61% of investments from the total amount belong to the American company Gale International, 30% – to the South Korean Posco and 9% – to the American Morgan Stanley.
• The latest technology allows Songdo residents to video conference with their neighbors, while sensors located in every building and on the street collect information to regulate street lighting, alert authorities to criminal behavior or tell passengers when the next bus is due.
• The Songdo Business District was created to attract businessmen and tourists from the nearby Incheon International Airport. It is planned to create replicas of landmarks from other cities, including Central Park, with deer and rabbits.
5. Dubailand
• An ambitious leisure project that, although not completed, is one of the most expensive building projects in the world. If Dubai has decided that it needs a family-oriented attraction, then it will not stand up for the price.
• It is expected that Dubailand will open until the end. It will be the largest and most expensive entertainment venue in the world with design elements based on Arabic folklore, as well as a Disney theme park and an IMAX cinema. Also on its territory will be replicas of the most famous sights of the world, including the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower.
4. King Abdullah Economic City
• This city, which is not even half completed yet, will be slightly larger than Washington DC and will be home to 2 million people. An hour from Mecca, it will become a major tourist attraction in Saudi Arabia, with villas, a huge airport, as well as universities and the most modern port in the region.
• The city was conceived by King Abdullah (now deceased) as a basis for diversifying the country's economy. Instead of oil, EGoKA had to rely on the development of industry, transport and services. On its territory of 173 sq. km was planned to create 1 million jobs.
• However, so far, big business has not yet arrived in the miracle city, in which 90 km of roads have already been built.
3. Kashagan oil and gas field
• The joint operating company North Caspian Operating Company, which includes 7 companies from different countries, is working on the development of the largest oil field in the Caspian Sea.
• In addition to the creation of artificial islands to develop the field, there were many difficulties in construction, including problems in drilling oil fields under high pressure. The oil reserves of this field are estimated at 1,5 – 10,5 billion tons.
2. International Space Station
The price is 160 billion dollars.
• This project is international not only in name but also in essence. The cost of the space station, which would have been $160 billion in today's prices, was divided among 14 countries.
• Built on Earth and assembled in space, the ISS is scheduled to eventually "retire" in 2020, 26 years after it was built. How to escape the space station? Crashing into the ocean. This is one way to sink billions of evergreen presidents.
1. National Interstate and Defense Highway System
• Construction of new routes and development of old ones to serve the interstate highway system began in 1956 under President Dwight Eisenhower.
• Although the Interstate Highway System was built well behind schedule and over budget, it achieved what it was intended to achieve. An efficient transport network was created, which, in the event of an emergency, ensured the rapid transfer of military and civilians to the right place.
The most expensive construction project is Power of Siberia
The joint construction project of Gazprom and the Chinese oil and gas corporation CNPC was created to supply Russian gas from the Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia to Primorsky Krai and China.
• Initially, it was planned to spend 800 billion rubles on the Power of Siberia, but then the project amount was revised upwards – up to 1.1 trillion rubles. The length of the gas pipeline was about 3000 km, and the export capacity was 38 billion cubic meters. meters per year.
• Work on laying the gas pipeline was carried out in harsh conditions, because its path runs through permafrost areas, seismically active, mountainous and wetlands. And the absolute temperature minimum in the territory where the Power of Siberia takes place is minus 62 degrees in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
