The World's 25 Most Impressive Megaprojects.
The biggest and boldest projects on the planet
1). Panama Canal
Expansion, Panama:-
3). Three Gorges Dam,
China:-
4). One World Trade
Center, New York:-
5). Aizhai Suspension
Bridge, China:-
6). Marmaray Tunnel,
Turkey:-
7). FFR Grand Stade,
Paris:-
8). Jubail Industrial
City, Saudi Arabia:-
9). Liuchonghe
Bridge, China:-
10). London Crossrail,
London:-
11). Hyderabad Metro
Rail, India:-
12). Hong
Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, China:-
13). Songjiang Hotel,
China:-
15). Etihad Rail,
United Arab Emirates:-
16). Al Maktoum
International Airport, Dubai:-
18). Bertha
Tunnel-Boring Machine, Seattle:-
19). New Century
Global Centre, China:-
20). Atlanta Falcons
Stadium, Atlanta:-
21). Shanghai Tower,
China:-
22). Bay Bridge
Eastern Span, San Francisco-Oakland:-
23). State Route 520
Floating Bridge, Seattle:-
25). Silver Line,
Washington, D.C:-
Skyscrapers are reaching for new record
heights, huge tunnels are establishing new transportation connections, and
colossal bridges are spanning greater distances than ever before. Around the
world, gigantic engineering and infrastructure projects are opening up or are
closing in on their completion. So we surveyed those finished within the last
three years and those under construction to find the most jaw-dropping dams,
buildings, and big machines on Earth.
1). Panama Canal
Expansion, Panama:-
Time to build: 11 years
Cost
to build: $5.25 billion
The Panama Canal is
so 1914. That's why the expansion project, set to complete in 2016, will carve
out a new 3.8-mile-long channel for new locks—which require 4.4 million cubic
meters of concrete—and widen and deepen what is already there. Ships have grown
a lot over the past century, and so the world's most famous canal must do the
same to keep pace, even if that does mean whittling away more of Panama.
2). Port Mann Bridge,
Vancouver, B.C:-
Time to build: 6 years
Cost
to build: $1.93 billion
The widest bridge in
the world (until the Bay Bridge's east span recently opened), the bridge east
of Vancouver, B.C., which opened in 2012, remains the second-longest bridge in
North America. The cable-stay bridge uses an impressive 288 cables to reach a
total bridge length of 6,866 feet.
Cost to build: $5.25 billion
Cost to build: $1.93 billion
3). Three Gorges Dam,
China:-
Time to build: 17
years
Cost to build: $22 billion
Cost to build: $22 billion
We can't even
comprehend the amount of concrete needed to construct the world's largest dam.
Standing on China's Yangtze River, this 17-year, $59 billion project measures
595 feet tall, 131 feet wide, and more than 7,600 feet long, with 32 main
turbines producing electricity.
4). One World Trade
Center, New York:-
Time to build: 7 years
Cost to build: $3.8 billion
Cost to build: $3.8 billion
The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere rises a symbolic 1,776 feet above New York City. The largely steel structure also includes a
concrete core that provides additional security and strength. It's almost as if
there's a second skyscraper within the first.
5). Aizhai Suspension
Bridge, China:-
Time to build: 5 years
Cost to build: $600 million
Cost to build: $600 million
The world's highest bridge, connecting two tunnels in China, is
also one of the world's longest suspension bridges. Opened in 2012, the bridge
sits 1,200 feet over the Dehang Canyon and spans a tower-to-tower distance of 3,858
feet. The mountains on either side anchor the suspension towers.
6). Marmaray Tunnel,
Turkey:-
Time to build: 9 years
Cost to build: $4.5 billion
Cost to build: $4.5 billion
It took nine years and $4.5 billion to build, but the 47-mile
underwater railway tunnel connects the European and Asian sides of town, giving
Istanbul a new rail line into and out of the city when it opened in 2013.
7). FFR Grand Stade,
Paris:-
Time to build: 4 years
Cost to build: $552 million
Cost to build: $552 million
Retractable roofs are nice. Retractable fields, too. Put them
together and add 82,000 seats and the rugby federation of France will have a
nearly mobile stadium on a giant scale located south of Paris. The two
million-square-foot venue will become one of the largest stadiums in all of
Europe, including serving as the largest roofed entertainment venue. And one of
the most moving.
8). Jubail Industrial
City, Saudi Arabia:-
Time to build: 10 years
Cost to build: $11 billion
Cost to build: $11 billion
The ongoing
expansion of a city built from the sand up starting in the 1970s required
plenty of logistical planning. The project, located in the Eastern Province of
Saudi Arabia, is undergoing an $11 billion expansion to update all things
industrial. The four-phase
project over nearly eight square miles includes eight blocks of industrial
plants, four blocks of petrochemical industry, three blocks of support
industries and four blocks of aluminum and other smelting plants. And that
doesn't even include removing hills, building tunnels, expanding fiberoptics,
building highways and using seawater for daily cooling.
9). Liuchonghe
Bridge, China:-
Opened
in 2013 with a 1,437-foot span, the second-highest cable-stayed bridge in the
world rises 1,100 feet above the Liuchonghe River. With one of the river
canyon's walls acting as a virtual cliff and the two towers sitting above the
canyon—one at 623 feet tall and the other 517 feet—you can expect some crazy
views if you visit here.
10). London Crossrail,
London:-
Time to build: 11 years
Cost to build: $23 billion
Cost to build: $23 billion
London continues to grow underground.
Eight tunneling machines recently wrapped up 26 new miles of tunnel for new
subway track that will connect 40 stations—including 10 completely new ones—to
improve transportation in England's largest city.
11). Hyderabad Metro
Rail, India:-
Time to build: 14 years
Cost to build: $2 billion
Cost to build: $2 billion
It will take all of the $2 billion-plus to create a new,
elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail system in India. With initial phases nearing
opening, the 46-mile light rail system will modernize an entire region. Elevated
stations will appear every kilometer and are expected to handle 15 million
riders, with trains arriving at stations every three to five minutes. With
trains running at an average of over 20 miles per hour, all technology—track,
stations and support—will run above ground.
12). Hong
Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, China:-
Time to build: 7 years
Cost to build: $10.6 billion
The incredible scope of this mega-infrastructure project
includes a 16-mile bridge-to-tunnel structure, with the tunnel portion spanning
about four miles. Two artificial islands for the tunnel landings will help
engineers create both the tunnel section and anchor the bridge portions, which
will connect Hong Kong and the mainland via a mega-crossing.
13). Songjiang Hotel,
China:-
Time to build: 2 years
Cost to build: $538 million
Cost to build: $538 million
Don't mind the waterfall. It's a key feature of this hotel built
into a 328-foot-tall quarry outside of Shanghai. The 19-story hotel will have
the waterfall cascading down the middle and two hotel floors that are entirely
underwater.
14). Russky Bridge, Russia:-
Time to build: 4 years
Cost to build: $1 billion
Cost to build: $1 billion
At a total length of over 10,000 feet, the $1 billion Russky
Bridge in southwestern Russia became the world's longest cable-stayed bridge
when it opened in 2012. The 168 cable stays from its towers support the load of
the bridge, and pylons standing more than 1,000 feet high anchor the cables.
Just the middle channel of this three-segment bridge is about the length of the
Golden Gate Bridge. The longest cables stretch nearly 2,000 feet.
15). Etihad Rail,
United Arab Emirates:-
Time to build: Unknown
Cost to build: $11 billion
Cost to build: $11 billion
Rail
may soon be the fastest and easiest way to get around the United Arab Emirates.
The three-phased Etihad Rail project, which now has the first phase wrapped, plans
to connect 745 miles of new rail across the country to link with Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
16). Al Maktoum
International Airport, Dubai:-
Time to build: Estimated: 20 years
Cost to build: $31 billion
Cost to build: $31 billion
The
original opening in 2010 was never meant to be the final word on the new
airport for Dubai. Al Maktoum will receive a $32 billion expansion set to last
up to eight years that will allow for 220 million passengers per year to fly
out of the desert. The shear scope of an airport spread over 21 square miles
will accommodate 100 Airbus A380 aircrafts at any given time.
17). Beijing Daxing International Airport, China:-
Time to build: 5 years
Cost to build: $13 billion
Cost to build: $13 billion
This will be the home of the world's largest airport terminal, the gleaming Terminal 1, designed by Zaha
Hadid. Built to accommodate 100 million passengers per year and with seven
runways and 7.5 million square feet of the space, the airport's first phase
should finish in 2018, with the rest slated to wrap up in 2025.
18). Bertha
Tunnel-Boring Machine, Seattle:-
Time to build: 2 years
Cost to build: $80 million
Cost to build: $80 million
While Bertha hasn't
moved forward since it got stuck underground in December 2013, the world's
largest tunnel-boring machine, at 57.5 feet in diameter, is undergoing repairs
that should have it churning dirt again this fall. The 7,000-ton, 326-foot-long
machine needed even more robust power to make it all the way under downtown
Seattle as it digs a new transportation artery.
19). New Century
Global Centre, China:-
Time to build: 3 years
Cost to build: Unavailable
Cost to build: Unavailable
At more than 18 million square feet, the New Century Global
Centre is the world's largest freestanding building in terms of floor space.
The structure includes multiple shopping malls, hotels, offices, theatres,
theme-park-like attractions, and even a water park.
20). Atlanta Falcons
Stadium, Atlanta:-
Time to build: 3 years
Cost to build: $1.2 billion
Cost to build: $1.2 billion
Any new football stadium is probably going to get a retractable
roof. This $1.2 billion altar to opulence, however, has one that's rather
unusual: It's made of eight roof "petals" that create a camera
lens-like effect when the roof opens and closes. Made of ETFE fabric, the
translucent panels allow light into the stadium even when they're closed. The
roof will take eight minutes to open and expose the brand-new stadium planned
for a 2017 opening.
21). Shanghai Tower,
China:-
Time to build: 8 years
Cost to build: $2.4 billion
Cost to build: $2.4 billion
When the world's second-tallest building opens, probably later
this year, stacked steel plates will create a "tuned-mass damper" at
the top of Shanghai Tower to protect it against swaying. At 2,073 feet tall, there's
plenty of room inside the tower for offices, hotel rooms and public space. The
21 sky lobbies should also offer plenty of mind-blowing views.
22). Bay Bridge
Eastern Span, San Francisco-Oakland:-
Time to build: 12 years
Cost to build: $6.4 billion
Cost to build: $6.4 billion
The world's longest self-anchored suspension bridge, thanks to its 2,047-foot main span, is also the world's
widest bridge. A single 2.6-foot-diameter main cable loops around the roadway,
held aloft on a 525-foot tower that supports 90 percent of the bridge's weight.
23). State Route 520
Floating Bridge, Seattle:-
Time to build: 5 years
Cost to build: $2 billion
Cost to build: $2 billion
Concrete floats quite nicely in Seattle, where engineers have
devised a 7,710-foot-long floating bridge, the longest in the
world. The new State Route 520 bridge will replace the current world's longest
on a stretch of highway that floats across Lake Washington, connecting Seattle
to points east. The new structure, rising 20 feet above the water, will open to
traffic in spring 2016.
24). Skytree, Tokyo:-
Time to build: 4 years
Cost to build: $806 million
Cost to build: $806 million
The world's tallest "tower" in the world (Burj Khalifa
remains the world's tallest building) opened in 2012 in
Tokyo. Standing 2,080 feet, the $1.8 billion tower has six TV transmission
antennas has two observation decks for panoramic views, allowing tourists to
survey Japan's capital city from 1,148 feet and 1,476 feet up.
25). Silver Line,
Washington, D.C:-
Time to build: 8 years
Cost to build: $6.8 billion
Cost to build: $6.8 billion
The D.C. Metro is adding a color. The new silver line required
11.7 miles of new track and five new stations for the completion of phase one,
which opened in 2014. Work has already started on phase two, which will add
another 11.4 miles of track and six new stations, including a much-needed
connection to notoriously difficult-to-reach Washington Dulles International
Airport. The silver line has been noted as one of the most complex transportation projects in the country, as engineers had to plan and build amidst the
already developed region.
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