Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Shanghai Disneyland is slated to cost more than 5 billion dollars, and is one of the

  • most expensive mega-projects in construction. But its price tag makes up only a tiny fraction

  • of some of the world’s costliest constructions. So, what are some of the most expensive mega

  • projects ever?

  • For the past few decades, the Gulf states have gained a reputation for huge construction

  • efforts. With revenue from the largest oil reserves in the middle east, Saudi Arabia

  • is currently in the process of building the tallest skyscraper in the world. The Kingdom

  • Tower is expected to cost an incredible 1.2 billion dollars. But that pales in comparison

  • to the King Abdullah Economic City. This 70 square mile metropolis was the idea of Saudi

  • Arabia’s former king, and is estimated to cost as much as 100 billion dollars. The ambitious

  • project is part of an ongoing effort by Saudi Arabia to create a non-oil based industry,

  • designed to encourage foreign investment. As many as two million residents are expected

  • to fill the Washington DC sized megacity when the project is completed in 2035.

  • So what could be more expensive than a 21st century city? How about a 500-ton space station

  • operated by the world’s superpowers? The International Space Station is managed by

  • America, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Europe and was originally launched in 1998. Over

  • the past 17 years, the station has racked up a cost of about $150 billion dollars. It

  • is considered the most expensive single item ever constructed. And, remember, it has been

  • continuously assembled while flying through SPACE. That’s not cheap.

  • That being said, the ISS is not even close to the most expensive project ever. While

  • the international community came together to make up the space station’s price tag,

  • only the United States contributed to its colossal mega-project: the United States Interstate

  • Highway System. No endeavor has come close to rivaling the half a trillion dollars spent

  • on America’s roads. Since its implementation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956,

  • it has spanned nearly 50,000 total miles. Only China has a slightly longer highway system,

  • constructed for about half the cost of the US’s. As with any huge federal expenditure,

  • the highways were primarily built with military defense in mind. In 1954, Eisenhower argued

  • for the project to combat "the appalling inadequacies to meet the demands of catastrophe or defense,

  • should an atomic war come."

  • Most ultra-expensive projects tend to be focused on important societal improvements or innovations.

  • As collaborations between countries increase, well expect to see even more expensive

  • projects in the future.

  • China might have some expensive projects up their sleeves, but they haven’t been the

  • best at ensuring building safety recently. To learn more about China’s history of infrastructure

  • disasters, watch our video. Thanks for checking out TestTube News! Don’t forget to like

  • and subscribe to our channel. Well see you next time!

Shanghai Disneyland is slated to cost more than 5 billion dollars, and is one of the

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it