The most grandiose construction sites in the world. Tower - Burj Khalifa building

Talented engineers from year to year develop ambitious projects designed to make the life of the Earth's population more comfortable and safer. Billions of dollars are being spent building power plants, bridges, tunnels and even artificial islands.
Today we invite you to take a look at Top 10 most expensive buildings in the world. Naturally, we included in the top ten only modern facilities, since it is not worth even trying to estimate the cost of such structures as the Great Chinese Wall, Kremlin And Giza Pyramids.

This bridge has already been "marked" in ours. The characteristics of this grand structure are as follows: a length of 42 km and six traffic lanes. More than 30,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day.

9 Large Hadron Collider, Switzerland ($6 billion)

The charged particle accelerator was designed and built by specialists from 3 dozen countries. The construction has impressive dimensions - the length of the main ring of the famous accelerator is 26 thousand meters. By the way, the name of the collider comes from English verb"collide", which means "to collide". After all, particle beams are accelerated inside the collider in opposite directions and collide at designated points.

8. Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline (TAN), USA ($8 billion)

The 1288 km oil pipeline crosses the state of Alaska from north to south. TAN is one of the world's largest oil pipelines and is owned by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The facility includes the pipeline itself, 12 pumping stations and a terminal in American city Valdiz.

7 Palm Jumeirah Artificial Island, UAE ($14 billion)

The construction of the island in the form of a palm tree was carried out from 2001 to 2006. The dimensions of the artificial "Palm" are 5x5 km, and the area is more than 800 football fields. Grandiose creation human hands seen from Earth orbit with the naked eye. Today, the artificial island has residential areas, private villas, hotels and a water park.

6. Great Boston Tunnel, USA ($14.8 billion)

The most expensive structure in US history is an 8-lane highway, which was built by 5,000 workers. By the way, mobile communication does not work in the tunnel, since the epoxy resin, with which the walls are connected, may not withstand the additional weight of the base stations.

5. Three Gorges Hydroelectric Plant, China ($25 billion)

The world's largest operating power plant is located on the Yangtze River near the city of Sandouping. In order to make room for a huge reservoir created at the hydroelectric dam, the Chinese government resettled 1.3 million people in other parts of the country.

4. Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant, Brazil/Paraguay ($27 billion)

The huge hydroelectric power plant on the Parana River is the world leader in generating electricity per year. The power plant supplies more than 20% of Brazil's electricity needs and about half of Paraguay's. By the way, in 2009, due to the accident at Itaipu, more than 50 million Brazilians and almost the entire population of Paraguay remained without electricity for a day.

3. Al Maktoum International Airport, UAE ($33 billion)

Dubai Air Gateway tops our recently published . Currently, the airport is only partially functional, but after the completion of all work, this huge complex will pass almost 160 million passengers a year.

2. Chek Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong ($20 billion)

Most of this airport is located on an artificial island, which explains the rather high cost of construction. Three airport terminals handle almost 50 million passengers and 4 million tons of cargo a year.

1 International Space Station ($157 billion)

15 countries of the world took part in the creation of the ISS. The preliminary design of the station was approved in 1995, and in November 1998 Russia launched its first element into orbit - the Zarya functional cargo block. To date, the ISS is the most expensive structure created by mankind in modern history.

The Palace of the Soviets is the fruit of the love of modernist art deco and harsh Soviet neoclassicism. Developed in the 30s of the last century, the project of this building impresses with its exterior to this day (though in the pictures). The hundred-story 420-meter Palace of the Soviets was supposed to be the most tall building the world.

Its construction began in 1937 and ended abruptly in September 1941, when the building materials intended for the palace went to military needs. After the war, the construction was decided not to resume, it was not before.

Main Turkmen Canal

The year 1950 was marked by the beginning of the great all-Union construction. Main Turkmen channel was designed for the purpose of watering and reclamation of arid lands of Turkmenistan, increasing cotton sown areas, and also with the aim of laying a navigable link between the Volga and the Amu Darya. It was supposed to carry out 25% of the flow of the aforementioned Amu Darya along the dried-up channel of the Uzboy to the city of Krasnovodsk.

The goal is really impressive, especially considering that the length of the projected canal was about 1200 km, width - at least 100 m, depth - 6-7 m. In addition to the main canal, a network of irrigation canals was also designed total length 10,000 km, about 2,000 reservoirs, three hydroelectric power stations. During the construction, it was planned to use 5000 dump trucks, 2000 bulldozers, 2000 excavators, 14 dredgers. As a labor force, it was decided to use prisoners and local residents. In 1953, there were 7,268 free workers and 10,000 prisoners at the construction site.

Of course, the ruling elite was not limited to the above means. The whole country worked for this construction, which is eloquently evidenced by the figure of 1000 (!) wagons of goods that were delivered here from all over the Union every month.

Immediately after the death of the leader, the construction of the State Customs Committee was stopped at the initiative of Beria. And then it was completely discontinued for reasons of unprofitability. But by that time, more than 21 billion Soviet rubles, or 2.73 trillion modern Russian rubles, had been irretrievably spent on the construction of the facility.

Transpolar highway (building 501-503)

The man of the year (1940, 1943) according to the Times magazine (talking about Stalin, if anything) did not limit his ambitions on a geographical basis. On his initiative, postwar period, from 1947 to 1953, large Building company with the uncomplicated name "GULAG" worked on a grandiose project - the Transpolar Highway.

The purpose of this construction was to connect western north(Murmansk, Arkhangelsk) with the eastern north (Chukotka, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk).

Due to the extremely tight deadlines, the construction was carried out in parallel with the design and survey work, which could not but affect the quality of the railway track being built. In total, approximately 80 thousand people were involved in the construction, not counting the guards. In 1953, work was stopped, and in 1954, their cost was calculated: approximately 1.8 billion Soviet rubles.

Sakhalin tunnel (building 506-507)

Another colossal construction site that ceased to exist with the death of Stalin is the Sakhalin Tunnel.

The construction, which started in 1950, was supposed to finish in 1955, according to the plan. With a tunnel length of 10 km, the deadlines were more than tight. From socialism to communism in five-year steps! And the country walked specifically at this construction site with the feet of more than 27 thousand people, all the same prisoners and free workers. And in the spring of 1953, the construction was closed.

The turn of the Siberian rivers

Let's make a reservation right away: no one was going to turn the river itself. It was only planned to transfer part of the flow of some Siberian rivers, such as the Ob and Irtysh, to the arid regions of the USSR - for agricultural reasons.

The project has become one of the most ambitious projects of the twentieth century. For more than twenty years, 160 scientific and industrial organizations of the USSR worked on it.

The first stage of work involved the construction of a canal with a length of 2500 km, a width of 130 to 300 m and a depth of 15 m. The second stage was a change in the direction of the Irtysh by 180 degrees. That is, it was planned to send the waters of the Irtysh to reverse direction with the help of pumping stations, waterworks and reservoirs.

Of course, this project was not destined to come true. Common sense prevailed over imperial ambitions - Soviet academicians nevertheless persuaded the country's leadership to leave the Siberian rivers alone.

Nikitin Tower - Travusha 4000 (project)

In 1966, engineers Nikitin (by the way, chief designer Ostankino television tower) and Travush proposed the project of the high skyscraper in the world. Moreover, they planned to build it in Japan. Theoretically, the skyscraper was magnificent: its height was 4 km! The tower was divided into four mesh sections a kilometer long and with a diameter at the base of 800 m. The tower, being a residential building, was supposed to accommodate up to 500 thousand people.

In 1969 project work was stopped: the customers suddenly came to their senses and demanded to reduce the height of the building to 2 km. Then - up to 550 m. And then they completely abandoned the king tower.

Terra-3

Remains of structure 41/42V with the 5N27 laser radar complex of the 5N76 "Terra-3" firing system. Photo 2008

"Terra-3" is nothing more than a project of a zoned anti-missile and anti-space defense system with a beam submunition. It is also a scientific and experimental firing and laser complex. Work on "Terra" has been carried out since the 60s of the last century. Unfortunately, already in the early 70s, scientists began to realize that the power of their lasers was not enough to shoot down warheads. Although she shot down satellites, this cannot be taken away from her. The project somehow came to naught.

"Star" (lunar base)

First detailed project Soviet base on the moon. Cherished in the 60s and 70s, the concept of a lunar city was a main unmanned module and several automatic devices to study the surface of the Earth's satellite. In the future, living compartments were to be docked to the main module, and this entire train would travel around the Moon, drawing energy from its own nuclear reactor.

The embodiment of such space fantasies into reality would cost the state an unaffordable 50 billion rubles. In the conditions of war, albeit a cold one, it was decided to abandon such interplanetary luxury.

National Automated System for Accounting and Information Processing (OGAS)

OGAS was based on the principles of cybernetics and was intended for automated control the economy of the entire USSR. That is, the system had to be responsible for the total vertical and horizontal interaction of all spheres state economy to ensure planning, management and processing of information. Management of the economy could pass into the hands of a soulless ruthless machine, which was designed to streamline, stabilize and pump the lives of already typical citizens. The transition from a command economy to a market economy destroyed the bright future of OGAS.

DEMOS

Interactive single mobile operating system- DEMOS. What could be installed on your PC instead of the usual Windows, if not for the collapse of the USSR.

In fact, DEMOS is a direct analogue of the capitalist UNIX, which was localized and adapted to Soviet conditions by Soviet system administrators in the mid 80s. The project closed in the early 1990s.

Chinese super city. Beijing is considered one of largest cities world, but the Chinese authorities plan to go even further, making the capital the center of the supercity of the future. The project will unite Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province into a single entity - a gigapolis with a size of 212,000 square kilometers and a population of 130 million people.

American billionaire inventor Elon Musk in 2013 proposed a new vision of high-speed movement - Hyperloop (“hyperloop”). This is a large-scale system of vacuum tubes, through which cabins with passengers must move at a speed close to supersonic. If the plan is implemented, people will be able to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles in half an hour.

Wanting to compete with the Panama Canal, in 2014 the Nicaraguan authorities approved the construction of their own intercontinental canal, three times as long. Despite the obvious benefits for shipping, some scientists believe that the project could lead to ecological disaster destroying thousands of acres of forests and nature reserve Lake Nicaragua.

By the end of 2018, the energy company Nur Power plans to build a 100-kilometer solar farm, collecting energy from the sun over part of the Sahara in Tunisia. The incredible plant could theoretically supply enough electricity to Europe to power 2.5 million homes.

The Dutch journalist Thijs Sonneveld once jokingly remarked that the landscape of the Netherlands is flat, a real man-made mountain would not interfere with the country. The idea was unexpectedly liked by many, and they began to implement it. The mountain, about 2,000 meters high, is planned to be erected as a landmark and a place for athletes to train.

For the last few year s Saudi Arabia aims to turn Mecca into the Las Vegas of the Middle East. The crown of this transformation should be the Arbaj Kudai Hotel, a building the size of a small town. Area of 1.4 million square meters, more than 10,000 rooms, four helipads… The $3.5 billion project is scheduled to be completed in 2017.

In Shenzhen (China) they plan to build something not only big, but also completely unique. Vertical business center in the form of a cloud, dubbed Cloud Citizen, must be completely self-sufficient with the help of solar and wind energy, collect rainwater and produce food on their own farms.

A city where all infrastructure is connected to the Internet, and the command center connects all residents with a single network. A city in which there will be no place for dirt, traffic jams and noise. This is Dholera, the future smart city in India. Subsequently, it is planned to build another 23 similar cities.

While cities and mountains are being erected in other parts of the world, new islands are being created in Azerbaijan. The Khazar Islands is an artificial archipelago of 55 islands in the Caspian Sea, the construction of which will begin this year. There will be a new airport cultural centers, parks and even a racing track for Formula 1.

China plans to revive the Great Silk Road in a new form and radically change economic map peace. New way will become a corridor from Shanghai to Berlin, cross China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Germany, stretching for 12 thousand kilometers - almost a third of the globe.

But no matter how big they are ongoing projects Humanity always wants more. Even if new ideas cross all boundaries common sense. We present ten of the most ambitious projects planets.

Construction is always going on in Russia, no matter what. All new ones are coming large-scale projects designed to make the life of Russians better and more interesting. But in addition, they provide an opportunity to earn money for thousands of our compatriots associated with construction. On the eve of All-Russian Day We tell the builder to the residents of the region where the largest construction projects in Russia are currently underway.

But first, we would like to congratulate everyone involved in construction industry- these are the builders themselves and self-regulators, as well as veterans, architects, designers, surveyors, housing developers, workers in the building materials industry.

So, where are the most promising construction sites in Russia now, where you can now find a profitable shift job?

The most grandiose construction project in Russia in 2017 is the preparation for the World Cup.

The World Cup will be held in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd and Kaliningrad. Stadiums are being built in these cities, where specialists of various profiles and just auxiliary workers are invited on a rotational basis.

Hotels, cafes, restaurants are being built for accommodation and leisure of guests. It is necessary to put in order thousands of kilometers of streets and highways, to re-equip airports. We need road workers, electricians for a construction site on a shift, helpers.