Huge Megaprojects Under Construction

all around the world construction companies are constantly pushing boundaries buildings are taller cities are sprawling and money is no object the only limit appears to be the sky but some mega projects in the pipeline are even planning to burst through the clouds with that let's take a look at some of the world's most mind-blowing mega projects that are still in progress the itter the international thermonuclear experimental reactor or itter for short is a colossal and experimental mega project that's set to be the largest nuclear fusion venture in the world its developers intend to demonstrate that clean unlimited power can be generated at a commercial level something our planet desperately needs as such the itter's designated site in southern france has been under construction since 2012 taking up a plot of land over 330 football fields in size that may sound like overkill but every inch of this space is required to run the project's state-of-the-art fusion device called a tokamak unlike normal nuclear reactors this specialized machine replicates the same reactions that power the sun this involves firing heavy hydrogen atoms into a plasma that's reached a toasty 270 million degrees fahrenheit and the intense heat the atoms fuse together releasing about four times the energy produced in atom splitting nuclear fission but as you can imagine building a facility that can contain all that heat and energy takes a lot of resources millions of components are being used to assemble the reactor bringing the machine's weight to over 25 000 tons that's over three times the weight of the eiffel tower on top of that 18 gigantic superconducting electromagnets which will be used to control the superheated plasma will each weigh more than a fully loaded jumbo jet but the materials of this megaproject aren't as heavy as its eye-watering 22 billion dollar cost this makes it the most expensive scientific endeavor in history and yet the world won't know if this pricey french experiment will pay off until it starts successfully producing plasma in 2025. sakurai blue but while you're waiting why don't you hit those like and subscribe buttons i put up fresh content every day so even with that delay for the editor to get up and running at least you won't be bored cho shinkansen the bullet train lines of japan or shinkansen and japanese are probably the most iconic high-speed rail systems in the world they can reach a speedy 186 miles per hour making the 320 mile journey between tokyo and osaka in just two hours and 21 minutes as super fast as that sounds japan has a plan that'll cut that time in half say hello to the new chew ocean cancer under construction since 2014 this new train line running from tokyo to nagoya will use revolutionary superconducting magnetic levitation technology instead of rails the line will rely on a series of electromagnets cooled to a freezing negative 450 degrees fahrenheit at this extreme temperature the electromagnets generate magnetic fields up to 10 times greater than ordinary electromagnets so when these supercooled tracks come into contact with the opposing magnets placed on the sides of the train they repel one another and allow the train to levitate this results in a practically frictionless ride that'll let the new specially designed trains travel at a maximum super speed of 311 miles per hour that's so fast that the 2 hour 21 minute trip between tokyo and osaka will be cut to a staggering 67 minutes but constructing a state-of-the-art train line over 300 miles has not understandably been easy initial construction costs were estimated at 48 billion dollars but this has since skyrocketed to a bank breaking 86 billion including the cost of the trains this is because tunnels will make up around 70 to 80 percent of the line's total length but blasting and boring through that much landscape takes time and money much more than they first thought as such the true ocean canson has been under construction since 2014 but passengers won't be able to ride until at least 2027 and i thought regular train delays were bad one barangaroo sydney australia has a harbor that's home to some of the most famous megastructures in the world but its iconic opera house and harbor bridge may be pushed out of the spotlight once one barangaroo hits the stage perched on the northern shore construction of this soon-to-be 890 foot beacon started back in 2016 and is scheduled for completion in 2021 as it stands the waterfront megastructure is made of more than 2.7 million cubic feet of concrete which is enough to fill over 31 olympic-sized swimming pools on top of that over 14 000 tons of reinforcement and 3 000 tons of structural steel have been used to support the megastructure as it's over four times the height of the neighboring opera house but despite the height the 42 floor residential section of this huge skyscraper will make up just 82 luxury apartments and that coveted view of the harbor will have one hell of a price tag starting at a sky-high 6.6 million dollars standard apartments will have two to six bedrooms and a great view to boot but for more than one floor you'll need some big bucks because the two-story penthouse at its peak is rumored to be hitting the market at a mental 100 million now that's one seriously expensive view lucille city rising dramatically out of the sands of the qatari desert is a glittering metropolis although it may seem developed to an untrained eye it's not quite finished in fact it's being built up entirely from scratch this is lucille a sprawling city that stretched over 14 and a half square miles of desert coastline in the richest country in the world qatar the city designed to accommodate 450 000 people was initially conceived in 2005. but when it was announced in 2010 that qatar would be hosting the 2022 world cup development of the city suddenly kicked off sinking an extravagant 45 billion into its development construction work started to bring multi-billion dollar residential areas commercial districts islands and hotels to life and all in record time racing towards a completion date of 2020 blue sails slowly began rising out of the barren desert sands while it's still under construction a veritable and habitable oasis of luxury has been constructed in just 10 years you can see in contrast to doha qatar's capital just how quickly this development has taken place from 2005 to 2018 and that's just the beginning at this point at least 95 percent of loose sales infrastructure projects have been completed meaning this once barren desert is about to become an oasis but do you think it'll be ready in time to kick off the world cup let me know down in the comments katara towers one of the crowning jewels of the previously mentioned lusail city are the katara towers and even from their incomplete form you can see why the incredibly unconventional crescent shape of this soon to be six star hotel is made up of 36 stories on either side reaching almost 700 feet up into the sky the shape itself is inspired by the curved form of the scimitar swords on the country's national emblem turning it cleverly from a symbol of great defense into one of hospitality but this unique design isn't without its own complications the curve left a series of protruding slabs with different configurations at each level ruling out the use of any standard framework to shape the concrete fortunately with money being no object for the richest country in the world qatar used a whopping 10 000 customized dokaflex tables to get the shape they needed for those of us who haven't brushed up on their building material knowledge lately those are the yellow sheets you see lining each of the colossal concrete floors but once it's complete with an ambitiously close date of 2022 those yellow sheeted columns will be replaced by a shining set of twin towers in its glorious final form the complex will cover over 3.2 million square feet and will have cost around 600 million dollars to construct looks like that'll be one seriously costly crescent the crystal the staggering skyline of china's mega city chongqing is home to a skyscraper unlike any other although it's technically less of a skyscraper and more of a sky corridor at almost a thousand feet in length the sky bridge also known as the crystal of chongqing's raffle city complex stretches across four vertical towers over 820 feet off the ground so not only is it the tallest sky bridge in the world but the structure is also longer than it is high as incredible as this feat of engineering is its construction process was arguably even more amazing after the four main towers were built up the bridge was divided into nine separate segments four of these segments were built into the tops of the towers the remaining three segments weighing over 1200 tons apiece were hoisted up into place using hydraulic strand jacks and secured to their tower built brothers though each segment took several days to carefully lift into place the continuous steel ring of the bridge took less than a year to fully construct weighing in at a grand total of 12 000 tons the final enclosed structure is made up of close to 3 000 glass panels and over 5 000 aluminum plates now that's one crystal clear success the south north water diversion project china's northern plain is one of the country's major population centers and it's been growing exponentially for some time but despite its popularity the north receives less than 20 percent of china's fresh water this isn't enough to keep the area's fast-growing thirst quenched instead of laboriously relocating everyone in the flourishing north the chinese government proposed an almost impossible scheme back in the 1950s they'd build a system of waterways to divert over 118 trillion gallons of fresh water every year from china's humid south up to the parched north that's over 12 times the amount of water in the hoover dam lake despite the enormous scale of the project three distinct routes were mapped out each of which would transfer water away from the famous yangtze river basin to the yellow river in total it would require an immense 2 313 miles of brand new waterways that's almost the same distance from new york to los angeles and when the green light was given in 2002 it gave way to a torrent of construction huge dams were erected to hold back new reservoirs record-breaking aqueducts were raised from the ground and gigantic waterways were built across the land but hugely ambitious sections like the western passage which crosses mountains 13 000 feet above sea level have required some inventive thinking scientists have brainstormed solutions from huge costly canals to air corridors that would rely on the region's natural airflow to carry water vapors from a to b i'm no scientist but wouldn't that be like trying to control the steam from a kettle around a mountain that sounds more like science fiction than science so far concerns about high cost and environmental damage have prevented a start on this ridiculous route although construction started nearly two decades ago the entire mega project is estimated to reach completion in 2050 almost 100 years after it was first proposed and as you can imagine the final bill won't be cheap initial estimates put the cost of this mammoth project at a bank breaking 62 billion but by 2014 it had already cost a colossal 79 billion making it one of the most expensive engineering projects in the world it looks like all that water requires one hell of a cash flow the new silk road you've probably heard ancient tales or at least the name of the old silk road it was a legendary road that connected the east to the west bringing endless trade and unfathomable wealth to both sides and now following china's grand entrance onto the modern world stage that ancient road is being resurrected but it's going to go farther than it ever did before announced by china in 2013 the new double trade corridor is comprised of two routes that will span across three continents running through no less than 68 countries constructing a belt route over the land and a road maritime route across the sea china and central asia will be linked with the far-flung reaches of europe and africa but all the new roads harbors bridges and power plants it'll take to make china's economic dream come true isn't going to be cheap while china's investing an eye-watering 900 billion into projects on its own soil it's also offering a mind-blowing 8 trillion for infrastructure investments of the other 68 countries that means it'll affect about 65 of the global population as it'll cover an utterly unfathomable 25 percent of all goods and services moved around the world this is without a doubt the largest infrastructure project of the century but coming from the country that built the world's longest wall that sounds like just another tuesday for them guangzhou evergrande football stadium when china is not busy with world-changing trade routes or cross-country waterways they set their sights on slightly smaller projects like building the world's largest soccer stadium so not that small i guess built to accommodate guangzhou evergrande taobao fc the stadium's foundations have been broken over a stunning 150 000 square feet in china's guangzhou south district by 2022 the soccer club's new home will boast an incredible 100 000 seats along with 168 vip suites costing them an eye-watering 1.7 billion dollars but the only thing more controversial than that outrageous price tag is its initial design matching guanxiao's reputation as the city of flowers this garish concept was inspired by the ironically delicate bing d lotus determined to be seen even at night it was even designed to light up in a dazzling variety of unmissable colors unfortunately its announcement was met with huge criticism from the architectural community afraid of their world-class landmark becoming a world-class laughingstock the design was replaced by an architectural gem literally more angular and silver than its brightly colored predecessor it resembles a giant diamond to represent the city's place in the global jewelry industry what's more the materials used to create the effect will be more cost efficient than the flowery light show alternative that sharp outer structure will be constructed from perforated aluminum to ensure good ventilation during guangzhou's sweltering summers and much of the shiny glass will be photovoltaic like that of solar panels to help the club generate its own clean energy supply with the design that incredible i really hope this mega project scores big abraj kudai if i ask you to think of the largest hotels in the world what comes to mind vegas's iconic green mgm grand or maybe malaysia's trippy first world hotel those are both pretty big but they're nothing in comparison to saudi arabia's soon-to-be record breaker the abrash could die designed to resemble a traditional saudi desert fortress the 12 imposing 30 to 48 story towers will give this megastructure over 15 million square feet of floor space for some perspective that's about the same as 260 football fields with all that space this huge hospitality hotspot will have an astounding 10 000 guest rooms 70 restaurants four helipads and even a ballroom inside that giant dome but why would saudi arabia need a hotel so huge and clearly expensive that all comes down to its location which is just over a mile south of the sacred islamic side of the kaaba with islamic banking assets reaching a tidy 1.75 trillion in 2018 islam is one of the richest religions in the world and seeing as approximately 2 million muslims make their way to this prominent pillar every year the 3.5 billion mega hotel is bound to attract prosperous pilgrims that is if it's ever completed it was expected to open around 2017 but google earth images of the site in 2020 show the construction is still at ground level it turns out huge financial problems in 2015 hit its development hard and while the government is keen to continue building there's been no progress since well unless there's action soon it sounds like this holy hotel is set to become a guest house graveyard the dubai creek tower with 24 skyscrapers over 980 feet high the middle eastern city of dubai has a skyline comprised of some of the tallest buildings in the world and soon to tower over the mall will be the one billion dollar waterfront development of dubai's creek tower even though it's already home to the world's tallest building the burj khalifa which is an incredible half a mile high dubai intends to beat its own record the creek tower will reign supreme somewhere between 3045 feet and a whopping 3 300 feet that's at least 300 feet above the burj khalifa but the exact number is being kept a secret all to prevent competitive projects from stealing the title how rude but for all that height just 20 residential floors will be encapsulated at the top along with 10 observation decks and its minaret shaped bud this is because the design is focused around one single concrete column supported by a vast net of steel cables which will anchor it into place in that regard the design is almost purely architectural it showcases dubai's engineering prowess while keeping that world record title safe at the same time that's genius or at least it would be if construction ever got off the ground in 2018 the first exciting steps of the cloud-piercing leviathan were laid into the ground by pouring over 1.7 million cubic feet of concrete with a weight of over 130 000 tons these foundations alone weigh more than canada's cn tower but then construction suddenly hit a brick wall it was due to be unveiled at the 2020 world expo but all dubai has to show so far is a large concrete cap in the middle of the city unfortunately the fallout from the 2008 financial crash and a drop in oil prices has left a buy in an economic downturn once so severe that creek tower may never lift off although its developers are adamant that the property will be fully constructed by 2022 until then the plans for the tower sit ready and waiting in case anyone tries to steal dubai's tallest tower title jedha tower but dubai's creek tower has some serious competition on the horizon across the middle east and saudi arabia construction of the highly anticipated 1.23 billion dollar jetta tower is also underway when completed the tip of this lofty creation will also reach approximately 3 300 feet high and instead of being a glorified space needle jetta tower promises 167 floors filled with over 600 residential and hotel rooms from tip to toe in total the final structure would contain enough steel to make eight eiffel towers and enough concrete to make up six hoover dams like that wasn't enough to make to buy sweat construction on the jetta tower started back in 2013 with a proposed end date of 2020. since then the podium structure of the tower base has been erected reaching the 63rd floor but in 2018 less than a quarter of the way through the project construction suddenly stalled following the saudi arabian purge in this national crackdown on corruption authorities ceased billions of dollars in assets for major businessmen scandalously this included one of the chairmen responsible for jetta towers development it was a severe setback and while efforts have been made to continue construction very little progress has been made perhaps they're just waiting to see if creek tower will make the first move like some architectural mexican standoff either way you can bet that when one of these mega projects starts building it's going to trigger a race to the top solar park alongside its impressively tall towers dubai is also famous for its immense reserves of oil but in an unprecedented move away from non-renewable energy sources the city has pledged that at least 75 percent of its energy output will be supplied by renewable resources by 2050 and it's under this initiative that dubai spectacular muhammad bin rashid al maktoum solar park is being raised from the desert sands this 13.6 billion dollar mega project will become the world's largest single site solar park working to harvest the abundance of solar energy that shines down on the middle east it's been under construction since 2013 and has been gradually built up over five stages with stage four completed in 2020 the glittering park is now made up of more than 3 million photovoltaic solar panels spread over 19 000 acres that's more than 10 800 soccer fields the panels themselves absorb and convert sunlight directly into electricity and by 2030 there will be enough panels to produce up to 5 000 megawatts that's so much power that the park alone will be able to support at least 1.3 million homes not only that but its developers also commissioned the world's tallest solar power tower currently it sits at a staggering 728 feet but it will eventually hit the heavenly heights of 853 feet that's almost three times the height of the statue of liberty unlike the panels the tower will be surrounded by a field of mirrors which will bounce light up to its peak here the concentrated sunlight will heat molten salt to a spicy 1000 degrees fahrenheit like frying an ant under an exceptionally powerful magnifying glass then the salt will be used to produce steam which in turn will run a huge turbine that generates electricity with all this impressive desert technology the solar park's completion at 2030 will provide some of the cheapest electricity in the world at just 1.7 cents per kilowatt hour in comparison the average u.s electricity rate is a pricey 13.3 cents per kilowatt hour with cost cutting like that dubai's mega projects will be saving the planet and the pennies grand ethiopian renaissance dam ethiopia is fast becoming one of the powerhouses of the african continent and nothing proves that quite like the construction of their utterly massive grand ethiopian renaissance dam at almost 500 feet tall and over a mile wide this huge hydropower project is set to be the biggest of its kind in africa construction of this colossal concrete blockade began back in 2011 when the ethiopian government plowed around 4.8 billion dollars of the country's money into its construction without any ford investors it's free to keep the 6 000 megawatts of electricity it produces which will allow it to power its manufactural and industrial dreams but its dreams won't come true that easily thanks to the water source they built this gigantic dam on you might have heard of it it's a little river called the nile that's right the longest river in africa and the primary freshwater source of ethiopia's downstream neighbors egypt and sudan so as ethiopia began building the dam's reservoir designed to hold a jaw-dropping 2.6 trillion cubic feet at roughly 30 million olympic swimming pools of water egypt started sweating you see filling a reservoir quickly reduces the amount of water that makes it downstream potentially triggering a water crisis or even a drought with this in mind egypt suggested filling the grand renaissance reservoir over 12 to 21 years however ethiopia wants to fill it in just five or six years to get the most out of their hydropower plant the dispute has raged for a decade and as the mega project draws closer to completion with no agreement tensions between the two countries have risen some reporters think that if a deal can't be reached it could lead to an all-out war over the water sounds like this mega project is going to cause some mega problems in the future which of these incredible mega projects do you have huge expectations for and have you seen any of them with your own eyes let me know down in those comments below and thanks for watching

Channel: BE AMAZED

Views: 1,138,616

Rating: 4.8564134 out of 5

Keywords: beamazed, be amazed, top 10, mega projects, mega project, dubai mega projects, massive builds, construction projects, full documentary

Id: cSt-h0vYV9g

Length: 27min 16sec (1636 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 10 2021