List of megaprojects
This is a list of megaprojects, which may be defined as projects that cost more than US$1 billion and attract a large amount of public attention because of their effects on communities, the natural and built environment, and budgets; or more simply "initiatives that are physical, very expensive, and public".
Megaprojects can be found in many fields of human endeavor, including bridges, tunnels, highways, railways, hospitals, airports, seaports, power plants, dams, wastewater projects, Special Economic Zones, oil and natural gas extraction projects, public buildings, information technology systems, aerospace projects, and military weapons. The following lists are far from comprehensive.
Disaster cleanup
While most megaprojects are planned and undertaken with careful forethought, some are undertaken out of necessity after a natural disaster occurs. There have also been a few human-made disasters. Major restoration was necessary after the destruction caused by World War I and II, some of which was paid for by German reparations for World War I and for World War II.Energy projects
| Project | Location | Capacity | Start year | Status | Completion year | Cost | Notes | Ref |
| Abreu e Lima Refinery | Abreu e Lima, Brazil | 2007 | est. 2029 | $20 bn USD | ||||
| Angra 3 Nuclear Power Plant | Angra dos Reis, Brazil | 1405 MW | 1981 | est. 2033 | $6.7 bn USD | The construction works have undergone several stoppages over the decades. | ||
| Australia-Asia Power Link | Northern Territory, Australia | $35 bn AUD | Electricity infrastructure project planned to include the world's largest solar plant, the world's largest battery, and the world's longest submarine power cable. | |||||
| Celtic Interconnector | Cork, Ireland | 700 | 2023 | est. 2026 | €1.6 bn EUR | Subsea HVDC connection between Ireland and France under the Celtic Sea | ||
| Khavda Solar Park | Gujarat, India | 30000 | 2025 | Located in the Rann of Kutch; will cover an area of once completed. | ||||
| Omkareshwar Floating Solar Power Park | Madhya Pradesh, India | 600 | 2023 | Aims to become the world's largest floating solar park. | ||||
| KSEB- Kerala Dam Wind Farm, India | Kerala, India | 100 MW | 2025 | |||||
| Bhadla Solar Park | Rajasthan, India | 2245 | 2020 | One of the world's largest photovoltaic power stations. | ||||
| Benban Solar Park | Egypt | 1500 | 2019 | $3.5–4 bn USD | ||||
| Bataan Nuclear Power Plant | Morong, Bataan, Philippines | 621 | 1984 | Over $2.3 bn USD | The plant never opened due to political change and safety issues, and its planned reactivation has become the focal point of the Anti-nuclear movement in the Philippines. | |||
| Boundary Dam Power Station | Saskatchewan, Canada | 531 | 1959 | $1.5 bn CAD | The world's first large-scale, coal-fired carbon capture and storage plant | |||
| Gorakhpur Nuclear Power Plant | Haryana, India | 1400 | 2032 | NPCIL had started the procurement activities for this project, as BHEL secured the order for supply of steam generators to this project | ||||
| Genesis Solar Energy Project | Blythe, California, U.S. | 250 | 2014 | One of the largest operational solar thermal power stations. | ||||
| Ivanpah Solar Power Facility | Mojave Desert, California, U.S. | 392 | One of the largest operational solar thermal power stations. Operational since February 2014. | |||||
| Kemper County Energy Facility | Mississippi, U.S. | 582 | 2010 | $7.5 bn USD | The world's first construction attempt of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle plant with Carbon Capture & Sequestration. However, after significant delays and cost overruns, the gasification process is currently suspended and the power plant runs just on regular natural gas. | |||
| Mojave Solar Project | Barstow, California, U.S. | 280 | 2014 | One of the largest operational solar thermal power stations. | ||||
| Noor Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi, UAE | 1177 | 2019 | One of the world's largest photovoltaic power stations. | ||||
| Olkiluoto 3 | Eurajoki, Finland | 2022 | Began regular operations in April 2023. | |||||
| Panamanian Natural Gas electric power plant | Colón Province, Panama | Currently has an investment of $1.15 bn USD. | ||||||
| Pavagada Solar Park | Karnataka, India | 2050 | 2019 | One of the world's largest photovoltaic power stations. | ||||
| Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park | Bahawalpur, Pakistan | 1000 | 2015 | Phase-1 of 100 MW Operational since 2015. Expected to be one of the largest operational solar thermal power stations. | ||||
| Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 2006 | est. 2030 | Over $47 bn USD | ||||
| Solana Generating Station | Gila Bend, Arizona, U.S. | 280 | 2013 | Includes a 6h thermal energy storage. One of the largest operational solar thermal power stations. | ||||
| Solar Energy Generating Systems | Mojave Desert, California, U.S. | 354 | 1984-1991 | Collection of 9 units. One of the largest operational solar thermal power stations. | ||||
| Tengger Desert Solar Park | Ningxia, China | 1547 | 2016 | One of the world's largest photovoltaic power stations. | ||||
| Three Gorges Dam | Hubei Province, China | 22500 | 1994 | 2003 | ¥203 bn | The largest hydro-electric facility in the world. | ||
| Tres Amigas SuperStation | United States | n/a | n/a | $2 bn | A proposed interconnection between the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection, and the Texas Interconnection, effectively connecting nearly all electrical grids in North America. | |||
| Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station | Jenkinsville, South Carolina, U.S. | 973 | 2013 | Over $2.5 bn USD | The project planned to construct some of the first new nuclear units in the United States in over 30 years at an existing nuclear power plant. The project was cancelled and all work stopped in July 2017. | |||
| Vogtle Electric Generating Plant | Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. | 2013 | 2024 | Construction of two new nuclear units at an existing nuclear power plant. | ||||
| Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project | Nyingchi, Tibet Autonomous Region, China | 2025 | 1.2 trillion RMB | A hydropower project under construction on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the People's Republic of China. |
Science projects
Research and development
| Project | Location | Start year | Status | End year | Cost | Notes | Ref |
| Copernicus | European Union | 1998 | €6.8 billion | Satellite constellation program for global monitoring | |||
| COVID-19 vaccine development | Worldwide | 2020 | 2023 | €93 billion | Global efforts to develop a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus | ||
| Human Genome Project | United States/Worldwide | 1990 | 2003 | $5 billion USD | U.S.-led international effort to sequence the human genome | ||
| Manhattan Project | United States | 1942 | 1946 | $22.8 billion USD | U.S. government effort to produce the first nuclear bombs. |
Sports and culture projects
Every Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup in the latter part of the twentieth century and entering into the 21st century has cost more than $1 billion in arenas, hotels etc., usually several billions. The Olympic Games are considered to be the world's foremost international sporting event with over 200 nations participating. Sports-related costs for the Summer Games since 1960 is on average $5.2 billion and for the Winter Games $393.1 million. The highest recorded total cost was the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, costing approximately US$55 billion. The International Olympic Committee requires a minimum of 40,000 hotel rooms available for visiting spectators and an Olympic Village that is able to house 15,000 athletes, referees, and officials.| Project | Organization | Location | Start year | Status | End year | Cost & date | Notes | Ref |
| Allegiant Stadium | National Football League | Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | 2020 | $1.9 | This covered-roof stadium is home to the Las Vegas Raiders as well as a local college team, the UNLV Rebels | |||
| AT&T Stadium | National Football League | Arlington, Texas, U.S. | 2009 | $1.3 | A retractable-roof stadium that houses the Dallas Cowboys. It also hosts other major events, most notably the Big 12 Championship Game and Cotton Bowl Classic in college football. | |||
| Barclays Center | National Basketball Association | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | 2012 | $1 | Home of the Brooklyn Nets. Also served as full-time or part-time home of the NHL's New York Islanders from 2015 to 2020. | |||
| Climate Pledge Arena | National Hockey League | Seattle, Washington, U.S. | 2021 | $1.05 | Renovation and expansion of Seattle's main indoor arena for the Seattle Kraken, which started NHL play in the rebuilt venue in 2021. The originally planned cost of $700 million was increased due to changes to the arena plans and COVID-19 issues. A very small part of the total cost was to pay for another major arena tenant, the Seattle Storm of the WNBA, to move its home games to other area venues during the project. The arena will also be suitable for a potential NBA franchise in the city. | |||
| Globe Life Field | Major League Baseball | Arlington, Texas, U.S. | 2020 | $1.1 | This retractable-roof stadium houses the Texas Rangers. | |||
| Guangzhou Football Park | China League One | Guangzhou, Guangdong, China | 2020 | ¥12 | 100,000-seat football stadium intended to be the future home of Guangzhou F.C. of the Chinese Super League. Construction began in April 2020 and cancelled in 2022 due Evergrande's financial difficulties. Construction recontinued in 2023. | |||
| Levi's Stadium | National Football League | Santa Clara, California, U.S. | 2014 | $1.3 | An open-air stadium that houses the San Francisco 49ers. | |||
| Mercedes-Benz Stadium | National Football League | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | 2017 | $1.6 | A retractable-roof stadium to house the Atlanta Falcons, as well as Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer. | |||
| MetLife Stadium | National Football League | East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. | 2010 | $1.6 | An open-air stadium that houses two NFL teams, the New York Giants and New York Jets. | |||
| Narendra Modi Stadium | Board of Control for Cricket in India | Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India | 2015 | 2020 | US$0.11 | It is the largest cricket stadium in the world with a seating capacity of 132,000 spectators. | ||
| New Commanders Stadium | National Football League | Washington, D.C., U.S. | 2025 | 2030 | $3.7 | A covered-roof stadium to house the Washington Commanders. Includes adjacent mixed-use districts. | ||
| New Highmark Stadium | National Football League | Orchard Park, New York, U.S. | 2023 | 2026 | $1.7 | An open-air stadium to house the Buffalo Bills. | ||
| New Nissan Stadium | National Football League | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | 2024 | 2027 | $2.1 | A covered-roof stadium to house the Tennessee Titans. | ||
| Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel Sports Enclave | Summer Olympic Games | Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India | 2021 | US$0.64 | ||||
| SoFi Stadium | National Football League | Inglewood, California, U.S. | 2020 | $4.9 | This covered-roof stadium houses two NFL teams, the Los Angeles Rams, who own the stadium, and the Los Angeles Chargers. | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | Premier League | London, UK | 2019 | £0.85 | Home to the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Also designed to host American football games in the NFL International Series | |||
| U.S. Bank Stadium | National Football League | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | 2016 | $1.061 | A covered-roof stadium that is home to the Minnesota Vikings. | |||
| UBS Arena | National Hockey League | Elmont, New York, U.S. | 2019 | 2021 | $1 | This new multi-use arena is designed to handle 18,000 seats to host New York Islanders home games. | ||
| Wembley Stadium | The Football Association | London, UK | 2007 | £0.798 | Home of the England national football team; also designed to host many other large events. | |||
| Yankee Stadium | Major League Baseball | Bronx, New York, U.S. | 2009 | $2.309 | This open-air stadium opened as the replacement for the New York Yankees' original Yankee Stadium. It has since become home to a Major League Soccer team, New York City FC. |