Most Impressive Megaprojects Under Construction | Blue Ocean

From record-breaking skyscrapers to massive dams, and from moving whole capital cities to building artificial islands, here are some of the most incredible megaprojects under construction in 2022. 14. Egypt's New Capital Moving into 2022, Egypt's new capital will rise from the middle of a desert 50 kilometers east of Cairo. The old capital, Cairo, has reached its infrastructural limit and is home to more than 20 million people. By 2050, the population is predicted to double, making the city even more overcrowded, polluted, and congested. The new capital will break away from Cairo's urban sprawl and offer a new base for the government, as well as a new home to 6 million people. The first phase of the project will include ministries, government buildings, and green spaces twice the size of New York's Central Park. In addition, it will include Africa's tallest skyscraper, the iconic tower. The new capital remains unnamed, but most of the government offices have already started moving in. With a budget of $40 billion, it is one of the most expensive megaprojects under construction in 2022. 13. Bayhetan Dam Just like in Egypt, a growing population poses new challenges for China as well. One of the challenges is to meet the ever-growing energy demand for 1.4 billion people. With that in mind, China is building some of the biggest hydropower projects. Following in the footsteps of the Three Gorges Dam, China will complete the world's second-largest hydroelectric dam in 2022. The Bayhetan Dam has an electric power capacity of 16,000 megawatt, which is almost eight times the capacity of the Hoover Dam in the USA. The $34 billion project started partial operations in April 2021. By June, it was generating electricity through two of its 16 turbines and is expected to be fully operational by July 2022. 12. New York's New Airport Terminal New York has the second-busiest city airport system in the world, and its biggest airport is about to get even better. Starting in 2022, JFK Airport will get a $9.5 billion makeover, which is the largest private investment ever for such a project. The expansions are aimed at making the JFK Airport one of the most desirable airport destinations in the world. The new Terminal 1 will replace the current Terminal 1, the 59-year-old Terminal 2, and the already-demolished Terminal 3. Some of the key changes at the new terminal include larger check-ins, modern architecture, and exhibits featuring iconic New York landmarks. Construction on the new Terminal 1 will continue throughout the decade, while the first of its 23 new gates will be operational by 2026. 11. The World's Biggest Soccer Stadium The Chinese Super League has made waves in the world of football in recent years. They have recruited global superstars like Carlos Tevez, Oscar, and Hulk to play in China, offering them huge wages. This infusion of money into the league was led by the Evergrande Real Estate Group, which owns more than 1,300 properties in 280 cities across China. After bringing some big football names into the league, the company set about building the biggest football stadium in the world in 2020. The Guangzhou Evergrande Football Stadium would seat more than 100,000 fans, surpassing Barcelona's famous Camp Nou. Construction of the stadium was projected for completion by the end of 2022. However, the Evergrande Group plunged into financial troubles, putting all of its megaprojects on hold. The crisis at Evergrande worsened in December last year after they missed a crucial repayment deadline. It is currently the most indebted company in the world, with total liabilities crossing $300 billion. With the main developer struggling to make payments, Chinese authorities took over control of the stadium project and put it up for auction towards the end of last year. If there are no buyers, a state-owned investment group will take over the project. However, like many of Evergrande's incomplete projects, they might decide to end the construction altogether. 10. Jeddah Economic City In 2016, Saudi Arabia unveiled Saudi Vision 2030 in a bid to reduce the country's dependence on oil and to diversify the economy toward tourism and investment ventures. The $20 billion Jeddah Economic City is a key part of that vision, and its construction is proceeding at a steady pace. Construction on all road and landscaping work is nearing completion, with work now moving ahead on the city's three districts. Jeddah Economic City is also the proposed destination for the largest skyscraper in the world. But while the future of the Jeddah Tower remains unclear, there are more than 200 towers planned for the city. With the completion of the basic infrastructure, we can look forward to new skyscrapers emerging from the biggest megaproject in Saudi Arabia. 9. Padma Bridge Bangladesh has multiple hundreds of rivers, and the majority of the land lies below five meters above sea level. The country is facing massive flooding problems and is suffering from the consequences of climate change. These issues are making it extremely difficult and expensive to build modern infrastructure. As a result, Bangladesh's infrastructure is lacking and limiting its economic growth. All the more important is the Padma Bridge megaproject, which will connect the capital Dhaka with the south of the country. The cost of $3 billion was originally financed by the World Bank and other donors. However, allegations of corruption on Bangladesh government officials caused the World Bank to pull out of the project, so they canceled their credit of $1.2 billion. Other donors soon followed, and even though the corruption cases were dismissed in a Canadian court, Bangladesh decided to move ahead with the project with its own money. Construction on the two-level multipurpose bridge started in 2014. The upper level carries a four-lane highway, while the lower level will have a single-track railway line. The bridge was installed on 42 pillars that reach a water depth of up to 122 meters. The 6.1-kilometer-long bridge will be open to the public by June 2022. It's the longest bridge in Bangladesh and one of the longest river crossings in the world. The bridge will ultimately serve 75,000 vehicles each day, while significantly reducing travel time and vehicle operating costs. It will also have further positive impacts on Bangladesh's thriving economy, as the country's GDP is expected to increase up to 2%. 8. New Clark City The Philippines is another country planning a backup capital city in case the current capital, Manila, stops functioning properly. Manila is located on the edge of what we call the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area with the world's most earthquakes and active volcanoes. The nearby Taal volcano was classified as dangerously active by the authorities, and in the event of a major eruption, several hundred thousand people would have to be evacuated. This is why the Philippines is building New Clark City in a more central location around 100 kilometers north of Manila. With a size bigger than Manhattan, it will house new government facilities, special economic zones, and housing for up to 1.2 million residents. The city will be completed in five phases over a period of 30 years, the first of which is nearing completion in 2022. 7. Brenner Base Tunnel Switzerland's Gotthard Base Tunnel, that opened in 2016, allowed the country to move cargo quickly across Europe, and that success will now be replicated by another tunnel through the Alps. The 55-kilometer-long Brenner Base Tunnel will connect Italy and Austria and become the second-longest railway tunnel in the world. It was labeled a high-priority project by the European Union, which is also contributing half of the project's estimated costs. The excavation work on the premises began in 2014. The completion date was set for 2025. However, technical difficulties during the tunneling caused an initial delay of three years. The project suffered another setback in 2020, when a billion-dollar contract to one of the project's main developers was terminated. This forced a reissuance of the construction tenders, causing a delay of four years. Overall, the Brenner Base Tunnel is expected to be fully operational by 2032 and will cost around $9 billion. Moving into 2022, the excavation work on the Italian side of the tunnel is complete and is now continuing near the Austrian border. Once completed, the tunnel will reduce travel times from 80 to 25 minutes. It will reduce the amount of heavy-load traffic on roads by shifting it to an underground railway line. 6. Vietnam's New Airport With around 9 million citizens, Ho Chi Minh is Vietnam's largest metropolitan area. Their main airport served more than 35 million passengers in 2019, despite having the capacity for only 25 million people. The congestion was relieved during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Vietnam is moving ahead with a permanent solution. The government approved the construction of the new Long Than International Airport in January 2021. Located 40 km east of Ho Chi Minh City, the airport will be completed in three phases and eventually serve 100 million passengers every year. As a result of the Vietnam War, around 18% of the country is contaminated with mines, one of the highest figures in the world. By 2021, mine detection and clearance work was finally completed, and the construction of the project is ready to begin this month. The first phase of the project will be completed six months earlier than expected, enabling the airport to handle 25 million passengers a year. In the second phase, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam will develop the second runway and expand the passenger terminal to raise the capacity to 50 million passengers. The three phases of the project will be completed at a cost of $16 billion, making it the most expensive infrastructure project in Vietnam's history. 5. Merdeka Tower A video about the biggest megaproject of 2022 wouldn't be complete without mentioning the tallest skyscraper under construction. Malaysia's Merdeka Tower has been under construction since 2014 and will finally be completed this year. The completion of the Merdeka Tower is also significant because it could be the last of its kind. Other planned megatall skyscrapers like the Jeddah Tower and the Dubai Creek Tower have suffered delays due to the pandemic, and their future remains unclear. China has banned new skyscrapers over 500 meters, and in the U.S., there is no project planned that would come close to the Merdeka Tower. That's why it's even more impressive that the developers have managed to push the project forward and that it will be completed in 2022. At a height of a staggering 679 meters, Merdeka Tower is Kuala Lumpur's fifth super-tall skyscraper, giving the Malaysian capital one of the most prominent skylines in the world. 4. Incheon International Airport Seoul's airport is the largest airport in South Korea and one of the busiest in the world. It is constantly ranked highest for service quality, and its average processing times for passengers are the best in the world. The airport's two terminals can serve over 70 million passengers. However, plans are currently in motion to make it one of the biggest aviation hubs in the world. The new phase of construction commenced in 2017, including the expansion of Terminal 2 and building the airport's fourth runway. Once completed, both terminals will have the capacity to process 50 million passengers each, while the additional runway will enable Incheon International to handle over 100 flights per hour. 3. Lusail City The 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar has generated a lot of controversy. Allegations of corruption, human rights abuses, and poor working conditions have all been topics of heated debate. In addition, there were also concerns over Qatar's ability to host such a mega-event in absence of proper infrastructure. Despite all the concerns, Qatar moved ahead with its preparations, and one of its biggest mega-projects is now nearing completion. Lusail City is located 20 kilometers from the capital of Doha, and it will be completed this year at an estimated cost of $45 billion. It will be home to 22 hotels, four shiny new skyscrapers, and many entertainment hubs for the traveling football fans. Most of the developments in the city are complete, including an iconic 80,000-seat stadium that will host the showpiece event's final on December 18. After the World Cup, Lusail City will be home to 300,000 residents, and its new stadium will be turned into a community zone. 2. Moscow International Business Center Russia's plan to build a financial district is gathering steam with two more super-tall skyscrapers nearing completion. Originally planned in the 90s, the business district will accommodate more than 300,000 people and act as the financial hub of the capital. Construction originally started in 1995, but investments dried up in the coming decades, and many planned facilities were delayed or put on hold. By 2014, $12 billion were invested in the project, which was 50 percent complete at the time. Construction on two prominent skyscrapers, the One Tower and the Grand Tower, was restarted in 2019, renewing hope of a quick completion. The One Tower was originally planned to be 400 meters tall. However, further design changes brought its total height up to 445 meters, making it the tallest building in Europe. Just a few blocks away, another skyscraper called the Grand Tower will be completed in 2022. With more than half of the planned facilities finished and others under construction, the Moscow International Business Center will be completed in 2024. 1. Denmark's Energy Islands Denmark constructed the world's first offshore wind farm in 1991. They will now take offshore energy production one step further with the construction of an artificial energy island. In the middle of the North Sea, the country is currently creating a centralized power plant surrounded by windmills to meet its sustainable energy needs. The first step towards starting construction is conducting geological surveys to establish that the seabed is suitable for laying foundations. This includes seabed sampling and mapping the geological layers below the seafloor to a depth of 100 meters. Building an artificial island will require 4 million tons of soil to be delivered to the North Sea. Some of the turbines will be gigantic, rising up to three times the size of the Statue of Liberty. It is estimated that the site will produce 50% more energy than the Danish population needs, which is why it will be exported to neighboring countries. The $34 billion project is the largest construction effort in Denmark's history. If successful, Denmark will replicate its efforts in the Baltic Sea. Which megaproject are you most excited about in 2022? Let us know in the comments below. If you want to see more about similar projects, you can watch our video about the biggest megaproject world records. Thank you for watching and we'll see you in the next video.