10 Biggest Megaprojects in The World

The video highlights various megaprojects from around the world, including famous landmarks like Malaysia’s majestic Patronus Towers and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, which is a massive 3.2 billion-dollar development featuring a hotel, mall, museum, and more. Other projects include Hong Kong’s Forest City, which was once set to become a new luxurious city but only houses a few thousand residents today; Saudi Arabia’s The Line, a sustainable city of the future being developed to stretch over 110 miles; and Elon Musk’s gigafactory, set to become the world’s largest structure running on renewable energy. Additionally, the video discusses Lusail City, the Jubail II expansion project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the Hinckley Point C nuclear plant, and China’s south-north water transfer project, all of which are massive megaprojects with significant impacts on their respective regions.

We learn about two significant mega projects in the world. Firstly, the Patronus Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004, standing at 1483 feet. These Malaysian twin skyscrapers are still the world’s tallest twin towers and home to the National Petroleum Limited. The towers are known for their post-modern style and incorporating Islamic architectural principles. The second megaproject is The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which is a 3.2 billion dollar gambling and entertainment district built by Las Vegas Sands. The development includes a 2500-room hotel, convention center, mall, museum, celebrity chef restaurants, and the Sands Sky Park, an 1100-foot skyway connecting all three towers with the infinity swimming pool on top. The total development cost was 8 billion Singaporean dollars or 6.8 billion US dollars.

We learn about three massive megaprojects, including Hong Kong’s Forest City, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s The Line, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s gigafactory project. Forest City was once touted as a luxurious new city that could be the perfect home for around 700,000 people, but the reality is that only a few thousand people reside there today due to soaring property prices. On the other hand, the line, a sustainable city of the future stretching 110 miles long and employing nine million people, is currently under construction in Saudi Arabia. Finally, Elon Musk’s gigafactory in Nevada is expected to be the largest structure in the world with over 15 million square feet, and when it’s completed, it will run on renewable energy.

Several megaprojects are discussed, including the Jubail II expansion project in Saudi Arabia, Lusail City in Qatar, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Jubail II sought to double the city’s original size and provided housing for 120,000 new residents, while Lusail City was built specifically for the 2022 World Cup and cost $45 billion to construct. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam aims to supply electricity to Ethiopia and surrounding countries, but disputes between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt have repeatedly stalled the project.

Two megaprojects are highlighted: The Hinckley Point C nuclear plant in the UK and the south-north water transfer project in China. Hinckley Point C will cost £25 billion and will produce 3260 megawatts of low-carbon energy, surpassing what a typical coal plant can generate. Although the project is expected to finish in the 2080s, the construction was impacted by setbacks, including the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the south-north water transfer project was conceptualized in the 1950s to secure water supply in China’s arid regions. The project includes the construction of three canal systems that will divert 44.8 billion cubic meters of water annually from China’s four main rivers to drier areas. The project is expected to cost $62 billion and to be completed in 50 years.