From the largest offshore wind farm the world has
ever seen, to a deeply controversial canal that threatens the political stability in the Black
Sea. These are the top 10 megaprojects in Europe. This video is sponsored by
Squarespace. More on that later. We start off with
Number 10: The Stad Ship Tunnel - $272M Over in the rocky coasts of Norway lies
a patch of sea feared by many sailors. Considered as the convergence of the North Sea
and the Norwegian Sea, the Stadhavet Sea is one of the busiest maritime routes in the country.
Historically, the area has been known to be one of the most dangerous waters along the coast with
unpredictable winds and weather conditions. It has been documented by historians that even the
Vikings would choose to drag their boats across land instead of sailing through these waters.
Today, the Stadhavet Sea is still widely regarded as a treacherous area for even
the most experienced sailors. In fact, most ships today usually wait for days until the
waters have calmed and safe passage is possible. To make traversing this area safer, the Norwegian
Coastal Administration drafted plans to create what would become the world’s first full-size
ship tunnel. The Stad Ship Tunnel would completely bypass the dangerous Stadhavet Sea and cut
right through the Stad Peninsula, reducing travel times by up to two hours. The tunnel
will be 1.8 kilometers long, 50 meters wide, and 36 meters high. It will be able to accommodate
as much as 120 ships each day. Once completed, the Stad Ship Tunnel will be the first of its
kind in the world allowing for the passage of full-size oil tankers and cruise ships.
In 2021, the project got approval from the Norwegian government with a budget of more
than 272 million USD. Construction on the Stad Ship Tunnel is expected to begin some time in
2024 and is estimated to be completed by 2026. Number 9: Frankfurt International
Airport Expansion Project - $5.7B Frankfurt International Airport is by far
Germany's largest and busiest international airport serving as much as 70 million passengers
each year. As well as being the busiest passenger airport in the country, Frankfurt International is
also Europe’s busiest cargo hub handling more than 2 million tons of shipments just last year alone.
Because of its importance as a major European transport hub, and the ever-growing number
of passengers each year, a $5.7 billion expansion project was initiated back in 2005 to
improve the airport’s facilities and increase the airport's passenger and cargo capacity.
One of these projects was the expansion of the airport’s oldest terminal that extended the
structure’s length by 800 meters allowing for a total of seven new wide-body aircraft stands.
This expansion alone increased the airport’s capacity by more than six million passengers
each year when it was completed in 2012. Another project that drastically changed the
airport’s layout was the creation of a new 2.8-kilometer runway in 2011 that ran from east to
west. With this new runway, simultaneous landings were now possible which significantly increased
the amount of aircrafts the airport could handle. Finally in 2015, construction on a brand new
third terminal in a plot of land south of the runways began. The area used to be the site of a
US airbase, but was reclaimed by the airport when the base closed down in 2005. The new terminal
3 is expected to increase the airport’s capacity by as much as 19 million passengers annually
and cost more than $1.1 billion to construct. Because of delays brought by the COVID-19
pandemic, the new terminal is now expected to open some time in 2026.
Number 8: Istanbul Canal - $10-15B Situated at the crossroads between Europe and
Asia, the city of Istanbul in Turkey is located at one of the most strategic locations in the
world. The city itself is built on either side of the critical Bosphorus Strait that connects the
Black Sea to the Mediterranean and to the rest of the world’s oceans. This natural waterway
on its own sees more ships pass through it compared to the Panama and Suez canals combined.
However, despite being completely within Turkish borders, Turkey actually doesn’t benefit from
the strait financially. This is because of an international treaty that Turkey signed back
in 1936 called the Montreux Convention that regulates its use. The agreement ensured Turkey’s
neutrality during WW2 by heavily restricting the access of warships in the strait, and it also
guaranteed free access to all civilian vessels. As one of the world’s busiest shipping routes,
the strait is oftentimes congested to the point wherein ships usually have to wait days
just to pass through it. To minimize this shipping traffic, the Turkish government is
planning to construct the Istanbul Canal. An artificial waterway that would cut right
through the European side of Istanbul, effectively turning it into an island.
The new canal would be 45 kilometers long and is estimated to cost the Turkish government
as much as $15 billion. It began construction in 2021 and is expected to take seven years to
complete. This new waterway would completely bypass the Bosphorus, and some experts even
argue, the Montreux Convention itself. With this, Turkish allies such as the United States could in
theory be given access to the Black Sea and send warships just outside of Russia’s borders.
Turkey would also be able to charge vessels that pass through it hoping for the project
to pay for itself over the next few years. Number 7: Hornsea 3 & 4 - $19.2B
As you probably already noticed, we are using an amazing 3D size comparison animation
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When it comes to offshore wind power, the United Kingdom is the second largest producer
in the world only behind China. In fact, 4 out of the 5 largest offshore wind farms in the
entire world are all located within the country. Most notable of the four are the Hornsea Projects
One and Two wind farms which are both the second and first largest in the world respectively.
Hornsea 1 and 2 are both located in the North Sea 80 kilometers east off the English coast.
Together, these two wind farms generate a total of 2.6GW of power, enough to serve as much as 3
million UK homes. The wind farm will also take up an area of 870 square kilometers which is
roughly half the area of the city of London. However, despite the immense scale of the
country’s offshore wind farms amounting to as much as 14GW of total generation, they
are still a long way from their goal of reaching a combined capacity of 50 GW by 2030.
Because of this, newer and bigger offshore wind farms are currently being planned to be built
in the country. Hornsea 3 is one of these wind farms currently under construction and is
expected to be finished by 2027. The project is planned to be built east of Hornsea 1 over an
area of 700 square kilometers. Once complete, Hornsea 3 is expected to generate 2.8 GW of
power through 230 individual wind turbines. Even more power than Hornsea 1 and 2 combined.
Finally, Hornsea 4 is currently in its planning stage and will cover an area of 600 square
kilometers northwest of Hornsea 1. The project is expected to start construction in 2023
and aims to be operational by the year 2027. Number 6: Energy Islands of Denmark - $30B
Continuing with the topic of offshore wind farms, Denmark is no stranger when it comes to the
technology. The world’s first ever offshore wind farm was actually built in the country way
back in 1991 and served as a catalyst for the further development of the technology. Today, wind
power accounts for almost half of Denmark’s energy production; the highest percentage in the world.
As part of their goal to further develop its sources of clean and renewable energy, the
Danish government is planning to undergo the largest construction project in the entire
country’s history. By 2030 Denmark aims to build the world’s first ever Energy Islands;
which will connect massive offshore wind farms to Denmark and neighboring countries.
Denmark’s Energy Islands will consist of two large-scale offshore wind farms located in the
North and Baltic Seas. An artificial island will be created in the North Sea section to act as
a central hub for the area and once completed, would have a total capacity of up to 10GW,
enough to serve 10 million European households. The island of Bornholm in the Baltic will serve
as the second hub and have a capacity of 3GW. Once completed, the Energy Islands would
increase Denmark’s wind energy capacity by as much as sevenfold. Construction on the
project is expected to begin as early as 2024. Number 5: European route E39 - $30.6B
Because of Norway’s coastal geography being extremely rocky, mountainous, and separated
by thousands of tiny islands, it has always been difficult to navigate. The European route E39
tries to solve this very problem by providing an easy to traverse path along the Norwegian coast.
But even with the E39 in place, the 1,300 km long route still does not solve the problem
of creating a continuous path along the entire Norwegian coast. This is because the
E39, despite being designated as a single highway that goes all the way from Denmark up
to the middle of Norway, is actually composed of many different sections across vast stretches
of water. Driving through the entire route would require travelers to board seven different ferry
connections and would take at least an entire day. However, this is all about to change as the
Norwegian government is planning to cut the 20+ hours of travel time in half. They plan
to achieve this by completely eliminating all the required ferry connections. This will be
done through a series of tunnels and bridges that would bypass the water crossings along the
route. Essentially creating a continuous path from Aalborg in Denmark, up to Trondheim in Norway.
One vital part of this upgrade to the E39 is the Rogfast Subsea Tunnel which would connect
the city of Stavanger and Bokn in Norway under a 15-kilometer stretch of water. If completed,
the tunnel would become the world’s longest and deepest road tunnel with a length of 27 km
and a depth of almost 400 meters below the surface. Work on the tunnel began back in 2018
and it is currently expected to open in 2033. The project also calls for the creation of
four individual floating highways that would carry the E39 across some of Norway’s
largest, and most breathtaking fjords. One of these planned bridges would go over the
Bjørnafjorden and span a total of five kilometers above the water. Once completed, this floating
bridge would become the longest in the world; more than doubling the current record.
Number 4: Grand Paris Express - $38B The Paris Metro is one of the busiest metro
systems in the entire world, seeing as much as 4 million passengers each day. It is also known for
its iconic entrances all built in the early 1900s in the Art Nouveau architectural style. Being
one of the most visited cities in the world, Paris suffers from the worst traffic congestions
in Europe. To combat this worsening problem, it has been a top priority for the city
government to build infrastructure that would facilitate the millions of commuters
that pass through Paris every day. One major project that is aimed to combat Paris’
worsening traffic is the Grand Paris Express. The largest transport project in the city which aims
to further increase the reach and connectivity of the already intricate Paris Metro. The project
calls for the creation of four entirely new lines and the extension of two existing ones. In
total, the Grand Paris Express is expected to create 200 km of new tracks along with 68
new stations capable of serving an additional 2 million passengers daily. Construction of the new
lines began back in 2015 and is currently being constructed in phases up to the year 2030.
Before we get to the top 3 biggest megaprojects in Europe, we want to thank
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Nuclear Power Station - $47B Nuclear power plants are notoriously
known to be both very expensive to build, and extremely costly to decommission. However, if
managed properly, their benefits can far outweigh their initial costs. So when the Hinkley Point
C Nuclear Power Station in the United Kingdom was first proposed in 2010 it was met with
mixed opinions from the British people. But with substantial financial backing from both
French and British energy companies, everything was looking quite well for the new plant.
Hinkley Point C is part of a new generation of nuclear power plants that are meant to replace the
country’s old, costly, and inefficient plants. The project was initially slated to complete in the
early 2020s and have a total capacity of 3.2GW, enough to supply 7% of the entire country’s
energy needs. However, the construction was unfortunately met with multiple delays that pushed
its completion date by 8 years and saw its cost balloon to more than double of initial estimates.
For one, one of Hinkley Point C’s financial backers withdrew from the project back in 2013
amidst rising construction costs caused by the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The COVID-19
pandemic further exacerbated the already delayed project with supply chain complications
and cutting down on people working on the site. Today, the project is still under construction and
is now estimated to cost as much as $47 billion, more than twice of its initial price
tag with the completion date being pushed back to as far as 2028.
Number 2: High Speed 2 - $132B When the high-speed train connection between
London and the Channel Tunnel opened in 2007, it was met with huge success.
Constructed on time and under budget, High Speed 1 managed to significantly reduce
the travel time between London and Paris. Because of its unprecedented success, the British
government looked to create a second high-speed line that would connect the British capital to
major city centers to its north. So in 2009, the Department for Transportation started to
draw up plans for a second high-speed train line which would aptly be called High Speed 2.
High Speed 2’s construction will be done in two phases: one going from London to Birmingham,
and another from Birmingham to Manchester and the East Midlands Parkway. As of 2020, the
estimated budget for the entire project is known to go for as much as $132B and will
become the biggest transport investment program in the country in over a century.
Construction work on the new high-speed line started back in 2020 with the creation of viaducts
and tunnels that would carry the line over and under different terrain. The project is estimated
to be completed some time in the early 2030s. Number 1: Trans-European Transport Network - $625B
The European Union is known for its vast and interconnected web of roads, railways, and
airports that make it extremely easy for people to go in and out of different countries. In fact, 27
European countries are all part of what is called the Schengen Area. Travel between countries within
this area is largely free of border controls and functions as a single jurisdiction
all covered under a single visa policy. As part of an effort to further connect the
European nations and make travel easier, the EU drafted plans to create what is
essentially an all encompassing transport network across the entire continent. The
Trans-European Transport Network is a long-term project that will consist of roads,
railways, airports, seaports, waterways, and telecommunications infrastructure that would
solidify the EU as a single interconnected entity. The entire project will be divided into
nine different sections called core network corridors that would cover all major population
centers across Europe. The entire project is estimated to cost as much as $625B and
is envisioned to be completed by 2050. One notable part of this ambitious vision
is the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel that will connect the German island of Fehmarn to Lolland in
Denmark. The project started back in 2021 and once completed in 2029, it would become the
world’s longest road and rail tunnel. This vital piece of infrastructure would drastically
reduce the travel time between the Danish capital of Copenhagen to the German city of
Hamburg and the rest of continental Europe. Another interesting part of the project
is the Mont Cenis Base Tunnel which will cross the Alps and connect Italy and
France through high-speed rail. It is part of the greater Lyon-Turin rail link
project meant to bring together both country’s rail networks for easier trade and travel. At
a length of 58 kilometers, the Mont Cenis Base Tunnel is set to become the world’s longest rail
tunnel once it is completed some time in 2030. Which of these projects are you most excited
to see? Let us know in the comments below. If you want to see more about similar
projects, you should watch our video about the Top 10 Megaprojects in the USA. Thank you for
watching, and we will see you in the next video!
