China is a country of creative infrastructure and numerous remarkable projects. Communication technology, infrastructure, trade, manufacturing, and the fast-growing economy of the last 30 years have brought China to a unique place. In this article, we will describe the Top 5 Chinese expensive Mega-Projects which infrastructure has taken China to another level.
China has the greatest project like Belt and Road initiative, Modern city project, World’s Largest Airport, World’s Largest Radio Telescope, World’s Longest High-Speed ​​Rail Project, World’s Longest Cross-Sea Bridge, World’s First Alpine High-Speed ​​Railway, World’s Longest Wire Bridge, and China is the country with the world’s largest Dam project, world’s largest water transfer project, world’s second-largest tower, and countless mega projects.
Table of Contents
Top 5 Chinese Remarkable Mega-Projects List
#1 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Budget: $4-8 trillion
Location: Global
Belt and Road Initiative or BRI is named as greatest project of the People’s Republic of China. BRI is in the first position on the top 5 Chinese expensive mega-projects list. This project is the biggest project in human history. Which connects Asia, Africa, and Europe with China by land and sea. Its main objectives are to expand China’s influence throughout the world, including regional integration, trade growth, economic growth, infrastructure, and integration.
As of June 23, 2021, about 140 countries and 32 international organizations have signed MoUs with China for this project. Among the countries are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Russia, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Greece, Singapore, Indonesia, Kuwait, Qatar, Korea, and many more.
Inspired by the 2,000 years old Han Dynasty’s Silk Road Idea, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 during visiting Kazakhstan. Belt and Road Initiative is also called ‘One Belt One Road’ by many. Under this project will be developed lots of global infrastructure like ports, roads, airports, power plants, railways, 5G networks system, fiber-optic cables system, etc.Â
Since this project is getting longer day by day and different countries are being connected, infrastructure is being connected so it is not possible for anyone to say its total cost, but the project creators have given an idea, it may cost about $4-8 trillion dollars to complete this project.
#2 South-North Water Transfer ProjectÂ
Budget: $79 billion
Location: China
China’s South-North Water Transfer Project is in the second position on the top 5 Chinese expensive mega-projects list. The South-North Water Transfer Project is a multi-decade infrastructure mega-project in China. This mega project is capable of supplying about 44.8 billion cubic meters of freshwater every year.Â
Its main objective is to ensure adequate water supply throughout the year in arid regions. The idea for this project was first mooted by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1952. And as of 2014, its estimated cost is about $79 billion, which is recognized as the most ambitious and expensive engineering project in human history.
However, there is a lot of criticism about this large project. As more than 330,000 people had to be rehabilitated to complete this project. Environmentalists said water diversion could cause environmental damage, increase water evaporation damage, disrupt the river’s natural infrastructure, and so on.
#3 The greater Bay Area Transport Network
Budget: $73.5 billion
Location: Southern coastal area of China
China’s Greater Bay Area Transport Network System is in the third position on the top 5 Chinese expensive mega-projects list. The greater bay area transport system is a project to develop communication systems and connect mainland China to China’s two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau.
The region in which the project is being implemented, namely Guangdong Province, is considered to be China’s economic hub. The region is said to be home to leading technology companies like Huawei, ZTE, DJI, Tencent, Xiaomi. Many experts consider this region to be the Silicon Valley of Asia due to various reasons like the economy, trade, technology, innovation, etc. and if this project is implemented, this region of China’s economic hub will become one of the world’s largest economic zones. also, mainland China’s political problems with Hong Kong and Macau will also be greatly reduced.
The greater bay area transport network projects include airports, high-speed railway projects, mass transit, ferry terminals, industrial parks, economic zones, etc. The cost of the project is estimated at $73.5 billion dollars.
#4 Shanghai Urban Rail TransitÂ
Budget: $43.3 billion
Location: Shanghai, China
Shanghai Urban Rail Transit is in the fourth position on the top 5 Chinese expensive mega-projects list. Shanghai Urban Rail Transit is one of the largest mega-projects in China. Under this project, it is planned to make Shanghai a state-of-the-art city in terms of communication and to bring about a revolutionary change in rail passenger service.
By 2035, the total length of the rail transit network in Shanghai will reach 2,200 kilometers, of which the length of the subway line will be about 1,100 kilometers.
The project is estimated to cost about 296 billion yuan or $43.3 billion dollars. To be sure, this Urban Rail Transit project in China will be the model for all rail projects.
#5 Beijing Daxing International Airport
Budget: $17.47 billion
Location: Beijing, China
Beijing Daxing International Airport is in the fifth position on the top 5 Chinese expensive mega-projects list. Beijing Daxing International Airport is not like the usual airports, this airport is one of the best creations of the British-Iraqi legendary architect Zaha Hadid and the largest airport in the world.Â
Beijing Daxing International Airport is designed like a Starfish, even it has the nickname “The Starfish”. this Airport will be able to handle 45 million passengers per year by 2021 and is working towards the goal of controlling about 100 million passengers in the future. The airport has four civilian runways and a military runway but may increase the runway further in the future.
How big is this airport or how big is its size? this question has to be answered like The size of this airport is about 7.5 million square feet, in simpler words, the larger the 98 soccer fields or football fields combined.
Beijing Daxing International Airport has cost approximately $17.47 billion, although there is no doubt that this cost will increase in the future.
Top 5 Richest Billionaires in China