The World’s 5 Most Ambitious Megaprojects

From INFRASTRUCTURIST by Yonah Freemark

Megaprojects are the multi-billion dollar infrastructural undertakings that, when completed, play a major role in organizing our daily lives. They serve as vital conduits for the movement of our cars, trains, and water; they transport the gas later burned to create our electricity and heat; they allow for the shipping of goods from one side of the planet to the other.

Many of the world’s most iconic megaprojects were built in the first half of the 20 century. But are we now entering a new golden age of megaprojects for a more populous, more sustainable world? Here is a sampling of five of the world’s most expensive and complex projects underway today.

5. Expanding the Panama Canal

Before 1914, freight-laden ships needed to sail around the tip of South America to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. The carving of the Panama Canal cut down trip distances dramatically — from 14,000 miles between New York and San Francisco before to 6,000 after. The project, then, was a brilliant innovation in reducing the cost of international trade. And it was popular.

In fact, today it’s so popular that it’s rapidly running out of space: by 2012, there’s likely to be more traffic than the canal can handle. In response to the oncoming logjam, in 2006, Panama’s voters endorsed a $5.25 billion plan to double the artificial river’s capacity by 2014, and the country began preparations in 2007. The project will be one of the largest canal programs in human history, employing up to 40,000 construction workers building a 4 mile-long access channel and brand new locks on both the Atlantic and Pacific. Once the dredging is done, there should be few capacity problems for decades.

Yet, despite popular acceptance of the project, the expansion has come under criticism for rapidly rising costs that some opponents are concerned could eventually drown the government in debt. Others suggest that the main advantages of the canal improvements will go to consumers in first world countries, rather than the poor citizens of Panama, who need more effective ways to take advantage of the project’s developmental potential.

Nonetheless, if a rising tide lifts all boats, doubling the amount of trade through the canal is surely good for the country as a whole.

4. The World’s Longest Natural Gas Pipeline: The Trans-Afghanistan

Turkmenistan has some of the world’s most plentiful supplies of natural gas, but its resources haven’t been exploited to their full potential because of the political and economic volatility of the surrounding region. For years, Pakistan and India have been attempting to get their hands on the fuel, but Afghanistan — and its Taliban warlords — literally stood in the way. The U.S.-backed invasion and destruction of the Afghan government, however, made it possible to envision a new pipeline that would transport the gas from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the Indian Ocean. American authorities have repeatedly backed the project as a path to regional cooperation and stability.

The 56-inch pipes won’t be built in a day, though: at 1,040 miles, the corridor stretching across Afghanistan will be one of the world’s longest and cost $7.6 billion to construct… if the funding can be secured. The Asian Development Bank leads the project’s development and is still negotiating with the shaky Afghan government, which would receive transport fees through the deal.

The rewards for investing in a new gas pipeline in this region could be great — if no suicide bomber decides to blow the thing up. We’ll have to see whether investors are willing to take the risk.

3. A Water Tunnel For The Ages: NYC’s #3

In 1954, New York City engineers determined that the city would need a third major water tunnel to provide for the metropolis’ drinking needs. The two existing tunnels, which were completed in 1917 and 1936, need to be inspected and repaired, as they’re leaking large quantities of water each day. Only a new pipeline burrowed under the boroughs will allow that to happen. Nonetheless, construction on the project didn’t begin until 1970, and the mammouth undertaking won’t be done until 2020.

The principal obstacle to the tunnel’s quick completion is its location: 450-800 feet below the streets. That depth — far lower than the existing tunnels or the subway — was necessary to ensure greater security for the line and to avoid the many obstacles hidden under the surface of America’s biggest city.

Part of the pipe, whose diameter will range from 10 to 20 feet, has already been constructed between Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers and Long Island City, through the Bronx and Manhattan. But extensions north to the city’s water sources in the Catskills and east into Brooklyn and Queens will take years longer to build. The tunnel’s construction cost, at over $6 billion, makes it the largest single capital construction project in the city’s history.

More than 20 “sandhogs” — tunnel diggers — have lost their lives on the project. (Photo)

2. The World’s Longest Overwater Bridge: Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge

Qatar and Bahrain are separated by just 25 miles of the Persian Gulf, but because the former country is a peninsula connected to Saudi Arabia and the latter an island, getting from one to the other via road takes five hours. This separation was acceptable for decades, as the two countries haven’t always had the most amicable bonds, coming close to war in 1986. But the increasing wealth of each country in recent years has encouraged reconciliation, and a new bridge connecting the two would be a physical manifestation of that relationship.

The Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge (photo at top) will cost $2 billion to build and work is expected to commence later this year. Though the initial plans included only a road connection, a rail link along the corridor that would add $5 billion to the price tag is now being studied. The cable-stayed bridge should be complete in 2013, and reduce the commute between the two countries to half an hour.

Though the project will be the world’s longest overwater bridge, 6,000 people are expected to use it each day. Peace through infrastructure!

1. The World’s Longest Tunnel: Gotthard Base Tunnel

Switzerland lies at the heart of European trade routes, from Italy in the south to Germany in the north. But transporting freight and passengers across the country isn’t so easy because of its mountainous landscape, which creates winding, slow-moving roads. The Swiss have become accustomed to a non-stop traffic jam–but they’re not happy about the situation.

In 1994, the country’s voters elected to fund several new railway tunnels under the Alps that will dramatically improve the situation. The largest element of the plan is the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which will run more than 35 miles when it opens in 2018 and claim the crown of world’s longest tunnel. Construction on the $6.4 billion project began in 2003. More than 2,000 workers labor daily to make it a reality.

The project is run by AlpTransit, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swiss Federal Railways. Electric trains will speed through at up to 155 mph and decrease travel times between Zurich and Milan from four hours today to two and a half hours.

Though the main goal of the project may be to reduce congestion up above, there’s another potential benefit of the tunnel: proponents argue that it could improve access for tourists to the mountains. A train station located 2,500 feet below the surface would include the world’s largest elevator, allowing travellers vertical access to the small town of Sedrun and the nearby ski slopes.

The project still faces some questions, though. Italy’s proposed rail connection to the line is currently up in the air, which could make the huge investment in the project less valuable than originally envisioned.