Ambitious construction projects that will change the future

This article has already described everything well, but we will repeat it briefly.

Where are they planning to build? From the Red Sea coast to Tabuk province

What kind of project? The main problem with most old cities like Paris or Rome, which attract millions of tourists, is that they are easy to get confused in. Because they were built for centuries and did not think about layout and convenience. The Saudi project is truly ambitious: why not stretch the city in length? It is planned that it will stretch for almost 170 km and pass through the desert straight to the sea.

The height of this “line” will be 500 meters and the width will be almost 200 meters. In essence, the city will be two parallel skyscraper buildings that can accommodate up to nine million people. Mirror walls will emphasize the uniqueness of the object and will additionally reflect sunlight.

One of the main features is that there will be no roads in the city. At all. This means there is no environmental pollution and problems with road deaths. Instead, people will travel by high-speed trains. It is planned that they will reach speeds of up to 480 km/h – from end to end it will be possible to overcome the “Line” in just 20 minutes. At the same time, city residents will have walking distance to shops and green areas (although it is not very clear how the issue of access to sunlight will be resolved).

Saudi Arabia is keen to show the world that it is not just sitting on a huge barrel of oil. Therefore, the fundamental point will be to use only renewable energy sources (for example, solar panels – there is plenty of sun in the desert). We can say that the construction of such a city is more of a reputation thing than a necessity.

When is the launch? 2060-2070

Investment size? $500 billion

What are the difficulties? A lot of them. For example, there are political factors that may influence access to various technologies or other resources.

But another common problem of this construction is the shortage of… sand. Yes that's right. Construction requires concrete, and desert sand is not suitable for it. Therefore, Saudi Arabia buys sand in Australia – there is just the right coastal sand in abundance. However, the construction of the same “Line” will require so much sand that there may be a shortage of it in the world. But here, as they say, we’ll wait and see.

2. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Where are they planning to build? Coast of Sherm Behar Gulf, Arabian Desert

What kind of project? Let's continue about the ideas of the Saudis. The walled city is not a problem. Why not then do a simpler task and build a skyscraper higher than 1000 meters, at the same time beating competitors from the UAE with their Burj Khalifa skyscraper 828 meters high? Then you can create a real agglomeration around this.

The Jeddah Tower was designed by the same architect as the Burj Khalifa, Adrian Smith. The tower itself will have 167 floors with a total area of 530,000 m2. At the same time, it is planned to make the building multifunctional, which should become a magnet for business and tourism:

the first 5 floors will be occupied by shopping centers with shops;
floors 5 to 90 will be occupied by office space;
Only 20 floors are allocated for residential premises, from 94 to 114;
hotels will be located up to the 156th floor.

On the 157th floor there will be the largest observation deck in the world, facing the Red Sea, as well as the highest observatory. To allow people to move freely between floors without having to wait in huge queues, Jeddah will have 69 elevators (some even double-decker).

When is the launch? ??? year

Investment size? $20 billion

What are the difficulties? Well, actually, there is only one difficulty – construction was stopped in 2018 due to the fact that the Crown Prince carried out a purge of the government and his own family. At the moment, there are only 71 floors out of 167. Last year they announced the continuation of construction and are currently determining who will continue to build the skyscraper.

3. New Administrative Capital, Egypt

Where are they planning to build? 45 km from the former capital of Cairo

What kind of project? The main problem of the former capital of Egypt is its overpopulation and traffic congestion. As a city, Cairo has existed for more than 1,000 years, and radical reconstruction is a real challenge for it. It is necessary to demolish many old houses, build new ones in their place, rebuild the entire infrastructure and temporarily house residents somewhere (the total population of Cairo is about 9 million people). The question is – why? You can build a new modern city nearby and resettle some of the people there (whoever is not resettled – sorry, unlucky, but you hang in there).

In 2015, the authorities announced that they would build a new capital that would accommodate 5 million people. The master plan was developed by the architectural firm SOM. The capital is planned to house the largest mosque in the region, a huge park (6 times larger than Central Park in New York), a 385-meter-high Iconic Tower skyscraper and the world's tallest flagpole (the previous record is now 202 meters).

In addition to decongesting old Cairo, the authorities plan to attract more wealthy families to the country, because tourism is a huge component of the country's GDP.

When is the launch? 2030

Investment size? 45-60 billion dollars

What are the difficulties? Firstly, such large-scale spending on the construction of a new capital means that no one plans to work on the old one. Poor families will not be able to afford the cost per square meter – which means they will have to live for many more years in conditions of terrible infrastructure and communications that have not been repaired for decades.

Secondly, the construction of a new capital is a rather risky procedure. The fact is that residents and businesses will not always immediately appreciate the benefits and rush to move there. This is exactly what happened with Burma, which spent 5 billion on the construction of the new capital Naypyitaw – now its population is less than 1 million people despite the fact that the area is 3 times larger than Moscow.

The third point is the park. The fact is that such a huge green area will require a large amount of fresh water. In African countries, it is generally in serious shortage, so there are suspicions that some of the water will be taken away from residents. In general, in our lifetime we will definitely see this creation – construction is already in full swing.

4. City of Silk (Madinat Al Harir), Kuwait

Where are they planning to build? 26 km north of the capital Kuwait City

What kind of project? It cannot be said that Kuwait has the same problems as Egypt and Cairo. Kuwait is a city with a fairly well-developed infrastructure, so there is no talk of any overcrowding. The construction of the “City of Silk” near the capital is more of an image thing – it is planned that no more than 700 thousand people will live in the city (a third of the population of Kuwait). That is, the construction is a hymn to the economic power of Kuwait: for a second, we are talking about 17th place in the ranking of the richest countries in the world. Well, in addition, Kuwait wants to attract business not related to oil production – the desire to change attitudes towards Middle Eastern states is very similar to Saudi Arabia. According to the plan, this will create more than 200,000 jobs

The city center will be an artificial island surrounded by a river. In the middle will be a huge skyscraper with a height of 1001 meters (a reference to 1001 and One Nights), which will allow Kuwait to overtake the UAE with its Burj Khalifa, 828 meters high.

In addition to the port in the Persian Gulf, Kuwait will also build:

a business district in which financial institutions such as banks and the stock exchange will operate;
a cultural district with museums (apparently about the history of oil production) and amusement parks;
“green” area with parks for citizens to walk.

The construction of the technologically advanced port of Mubarak al-Kabir for $9 billion is already underway. In 2019, the 48 km long Jabera Bridge was commissioned, connecting the capital with the “City of Silk”.

When is the launch? 2035

Investment size? $132 billion

What are the difficulties? There are not many of them. According to the information now known, the problems are still more of a political nature. The city will become a real economic zone, and it needs investors. Kuwaiti authorities have entered into a preliminary agreement with China on joint management of the port under construction. At the same time, they proposed to a number of Chinese companies to move their offices to the business districts of the “Silk City”.

However, these initiatives encountered serious resistance from the opposition in parliament. The fact is that China is “famous” for its oppression of the Uighurs, a Turkic people who profess Islam. This is what a member of the Islamist party said about possible cooperation: “If they don’t stop killing Chinese Muslims, we will suspend negotiations with them on the Silk City.”

Of course, the issue can be resolved simply: the government does not want to lose money and will turn a blind eye to sensitive issues. But this will set an unnecessary precedent that Kuwait is not following its own laws. Many companies will have the question: “Should they be trusted? They’ll nationalize us when the pressure comes.” But it seems that this problem should be solved over the next 25 years of construction.

5. City of the sun (Masdar), UAE

Where are they planning to build? Not far from Abu Dhabi International Airport (17 km from the capital of the same name)

What kind of project? In 2006, the UAE presented the idea of the first eco-friendly city of the future with zero carbon emissions, and began construction in 2008. Here's the idea in a nutshell:

It is very difficult to live in the UAE in summer – the temperature reaches 50 degrees, which sharply drives away tourists. To solve this problem, architects Foster + Partners proposed to build buildings as close to each other as possible – this was done in Middle Eastern cities, which reduced the amount of sunlight on the streets and created coolness. Additionally, a wind tower 46 meters high was installed in the center – according to the plan, it should suck in cooler air from above and distribute it throughout the heated streets.

The city will consume electricity generated by solar power plants. To achieve this, 87,000 solar panels will be installed on an area of 21 hectares. As planned, this should be enough to meet the needs of 50,000 residents and several research enterprises (Masdar should become the IT center of the Middle East).

As with the City Line in Saudi Arabia, the City of the Sun does not allow for travel by private vehicle. However, there will not be high-speed trains, but autonomous electric vehicles (PRT). They will have to move at speeds of up to 40 km/h – not fast, but the city itself will have an area of only 5 km2.

When is the launch? 2030

Investment size? $22 billion

What are the difficulties? There are a ton of them in this project. For example, the fact that in 2022 (construction started in 2008) literally one block was built – only 5% of what was planned. It houses several houses in which students from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (organized jointly with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), employees of the six-story SIEMENS office in the Middle East and service personnel live. Just over 300 people.

In many ways, this pace of construction was influenced by the global crisis. But still, a big role was played by the fact that making a 100% eco-friendly city is simply impossible with modern technology development (no one thought about this in 2006). Therefore, there is a feeling that the city will not be built by 2030.

You can read more about how things are going with the construction of Masdar In this article.

6. Ocean Spiral, Japan

Where are they planning to build? A universal floating city that can be located anywhere in the ocean or sea

What kind of project? Let's move on to more fantastic scenarios. The problem of overpopulation, especially relevant for India and China, also affects Japan – it is home to 126 million people on an area of 380 thousand km2 (smaller than the Komi Republic). Construction company Shimzu has a solution – why not use the ocean that covers most of the planet's surface? After all, you can build a city right in the water!

The project was called Ocean Spiral because of the design. Close to the surface there will be a huge sphere with a diameter of about 500 meters, capable of accommodating up to 5,000 people. The sphere itself will contain living rooms, hotels, shops and all the necessary infrastructure for life. The air will be taken from the surface, while hurricanes or tsunamis will not threaten the sphere (unlike residents of the coastal regions of Japan).

But the sector needs, at a minimum, electricity. Shouldn't we pull it from the shore? Therefore, Japanese engineers proposed using the principle of converting ocean thermal energy using OTES (ocean thermal power plants). In fact, the ocean is an inexhaustible source of energy, since its surface is constantly heated by the sun. The temperature difference on the surface and at a depth of 3-4 km can reach 20 degrees.

Accordingly, the depth can be different, so the sphere and the module are connected by a flexible spiral 15 km long. Communications pass through it, and people can also move around. The station has desalination plants, and you can eat the same fish.

When is the launch? For 5 years from some point 🙂

Investment size? $26 billion

What are the difficulties? The idea is very cool, but it looks more like a work by Jules Verne. Moreover, the technologies that make it possible to implement this idea should not be expected in the next 10-15 years.

7. Gift, India

Where are they planning to build? Gujarat Province

What kind of project? According to forecasts, by 2050 India will overtake China in terms of population, reaching 1.7 billion people. Already, it faces enormous challenges in terms of logistics and infrastructure, and high population density contributes to the growth of infectious diseases.

Therefore, there is now a real construction boom in India, designed to solve the problem and distribute housing more evenly. One of them was the Gujarat International Finance Tec – abbreviated as GIFT. Its main feature is that it will be the first “smart” city. Relatively speaking, controlling light, water and sewerage will become possible using smartphones (although the author believes that finding a smartphone to flush the toilet is the future we deserve). Garbage will be collected using a vacuum system, and the cooling system will be centralized.

Skyscrapers with 25,000 smart apartments will be built on an area of just 15 km2. The most noticeable of them will be the central tower, about 400 meters high.

Gift's main goal is to become the new financial center of India. For example, the International Monetary Fund and the UN are planning to open their offices and support India in their endeavor, Bank of America and IFC have already done so.

When is the launch? 2030

Investment size? $7.5 billion

What are the difficulties? Not noticed. Construction is in full swing – Indians are great.

8. Port City, Sri Lanka

Where are they planning to build? The capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo

What kind of project? We are already familiar with the underwater city project – it’s fantastic. But building a city on the surface of the water is something new. This is exactly what the Sri Lankan government thought and decided to expand the area of the coastal zone of the capital. To do this, they decided to create an artificial embankment with an area of 269 (!!!) hectares from sand and special mixtures.

To implement the initiative, they turned to the China Harbor Engineering Company. China invested $1.4 billion in the first phase and took on most of the work to create the embankment. Work began in 2014 and ended in 2023, 9 years later.

The whole new area is right there was leased to China for a period of 99 years. Now commercial buildings will begin to be erected on the new peninsula, and the entire region will be declared a special economic zone (SEZ) and tax benefits will be provided to businesses. As planned, this helps attract foreign capital to the Sri Lankan economy (of course, mostly Chinese companies).

When is the launch? 2041

Investment size? $14 billion

What are the difficulties? China has far-reaching goals. First, get the intermediate port within “One Belt, One Road” project and establish strong economic ties with emerging markets in India, Africa and the Middle East. Secondly, demonstrate to the world the benefits of cooperation with China. “Look what we have created in less than 10 years. Do you want it too?”

All this causes concern on two sides:

ecologists say it is necessary to study the impact of the new embankment on the marine ecosystem. But as usual, no one took their cries seriously.
India because China's growing influence in the region is alarming. This is more serious, because Sri Lanka is the closest neighbor and is very dependent on Indian imports.

Time will tell how the transfer of land to China will affect relations between India and Sri Lanka. But for now it seems that nothing to worry about.

9. Telos, USA

Where are they planning to build? Somewhere in the desert between Nevada, Utah and Arizona (but this is not certain)

What kind of project? An eco-friendly utopian city, which was conceived by billionaire Marc Lore, a former director of Walmart. The concept for 2021 was developed by the Danish company Bjarke Ingels Group. The entire city will be located on an area of 610 km2. Only environmentally friendly materials will be used in construction (which ones are not specified). People will, as usual, move around the city on bicycles or electric cars – no diesel or gasoline cars. Air taxis will fly across the sky – the so-called eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing).

In the center of the complex there will be a huge tower, which the billionaire calls “the lighthouse of the city.” This will be a real miracle of engineering: the building’s autonomy will be ensured by solar panels on the roof. Plants will also be grown there using the principle of aeroponics and water will be stored by collecting and filtering condensate and precipitation (no one is bothered by the fact that the action takes place in the desert).

But it’s not for nothing that the city is called utopian. Mark Lohr's idea is based on Henry George's book Progress and Poverty, written back in 1879. The author suggests that the problem with capitalism is private property. If all the land in the city were managed by a certain fund, then the profits from its rental could be used for social needs: transport, medicine and education. More details with the idea can be found here.

When is the launch? 2030 – 50 thousand people, 2070 – 5 million people

Investment size? up to 400 billion dollars

What are the difficulties? There are many questions about Laura's project, which is more reminiscent of his childhood dreams. Firstly, utopian ideas have already been tried in most parts of the globe. But true communism and a society “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” was never built. Yes, Laura’s project is about modernized capitalism. But by and large, a utopia is a utopia – it is either not viable, or it simply will not be allowed to be realized.

Secondly, all this is simply problematic to implement. Who would want to invest 400 billion in such an ambitious project? Let's say, maybe in 50-70 years. But so that in 2030 50 thousand people already live in the city? By the way, the lucky ones will be chosen in a lottery. The main thing is that they know about participation in it.

10. City of Elon Musk, USA

Where are they planning to build? 56 km from Austin, Texas

What kind of project? Information shared only Wall Street Journal newspaper, and the news was replicated by other media. It is unclear how much the original WSJ report can be trusted. But according to rumors, Musk plans to build a city for employees of his companies SpaceX, Tesla and Boring Company and rent out housing at good discounts (about $800 per month). Large facilities of Space X and Boring Company are located nearby – this will enable employees to get to work faster.

Construction is planned on land with an area of 14 km2, which Musk has been buying up for several years.