megaprojects
Massive infrastructure endeavors
Megaprojects are extremely large-scale infrastructure or engineering undertakings—dams, airports, high-speed rail lines, Olympic facilities—typically costing billions of dollars and taking years or decades to complete.
The term often carries connotations of cost overruns, delays, and political complexity: The bridge became another megaproject plagued by budget problems.
Megaprojects reshape landscapes and economies but frequently exceed initial estimates.
Potential for success
- investmentDeploying capital for returns
- fundingSupplying monetary resources
- stakeholdersThose with investment in outcome
- procurementObtaining goods externally
timeline · budget · phasing · permitting · logistics · coordination · scheduling · contingency
Detailed technical drawing
- excavationAct of unearthing
- craneLifter or wader
- scaffoldingTemporary exterior work platform
- concreteSolid building mixture
steel · welding · foundation · surveying · contractor · bulldozer · girder · rigging
Exceptionally large or significant
- colossalExtremely large in scale
- massiveExtremely large and heavy
- gargantuanExtremely immense in scope
- titanicEnormously strong or large
behemoth · vast · immense · gigantic · enormous · towering · mammoth · epic
Major intercity roads
- bridgesStructures spanning obstacles
- tunnelsUnderground hollow pathways
- damsWater-blocking structures
- airportsFacilities for aircraft arrival
seaports · railways · subways · pipelines · telecommunications · public-transit · canals · desalination
Adopted principle of action
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- bureaucracyRigid administrative system
- transparencyState of being see-through
accountability · corruption · bidding · contracts · auditing · compliance · lobbying · nationalization
feasibility
Potential for success
- investmentDeploying capital for returns
- fundingSupplying monetary resources
- stakeholdersThose with investment in outcome
procurement · timeline · budget · phasing · permitting · logistics · coordination · scheduling · contingency · milestones
blueprint
Detailed technical drawing
- excavationAct of unearthing
- craneLifter or wader
- scaffoldingTemporary exterior work platform
concrete · steel · welding · foundation · surveying · contractor · bulldozer · girder · rigging · hardhat
monumental
Exceptionally large or significant
- colossalExtremely large in scale
- massiveExtremely large and heavy
- gargantuanExtremely immense in scope
titanic · behemoth · vast · immense · gigantic · enormous · towering · mammoth · epic · astronomical
highways
Major intercity roads
airports · seaports · railways · subways · pipelines · telecommunications · public-transit · canals · desalination
CERN
European nuclear research organization
- CrossrailLondon's east-west railway
policy
Adopted principle of action
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- bureaucracyRigid administrative system
transparency · accountability · corruption · bidding · contracts · auditing · compliance · lobbying · nationalization · sovereignty
- Modern Middle EastArab Spring, ISIS, Iraq War, Taliban, Hamas