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http://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/news/budget-busting-megaprojects-coming-soon-–-or-are-they/ss-BBPZlrT?ocid=ientp#image=13
Projects of immense scale and complexity are never easy to execute, so it's no wonder so many are delivered late and massively over budget. We take a look at 10 notoriously problematic projects around the world and whether they're likely to be ready by their (new) delivery dates.
10. Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel: due February 2019, over budget by $600 million (£467m)
Construction of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel, aka the Highway 99 tunnel, began in July 2013, and planners were confident the vast project would be done and dusted by December 2015.
The ambitious original completion date was canned in December 2013 when Bertha, the enormous tunnel-boring machine built specially for the project, overheated and malfunctioned. Bertha was finally fixed in December 2015 and digging resumed.
A sinkhole appeared on the site in January 2016, which further delayed the project, and the tunnel won't open to traffic now until February 2019. Overdue by more than three years, the delays have swelled the budget of $2.1 billion (£1.6bn) by $600 million (£467m).
9. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: due March 2019, over budget by around $1.2 billion (£895m)
Plans for a new stadium for London's Tottenham Hotspur Football Club were announced a decade ago, but construction of the 62,062-seat arena was delayed due to objections from conservation groups, and didn't get going until September 2012.
A super-impressive project, the futuristic stadium will boast the world's first dividing retractable pitch, swish heated seats with USB charging ports and free Wi-Fi, not to mention a museum, high-end restaurants, luxurious lounges, a microbrewery and the longest bar in the UK.
Construction errors and safety concerns have pushed back the completion date though from August 2018 to early 2019. The budget has overrun big time too. The very first estimate of $390 million (£305m) has ballooned to $1.3 billion (£1bn), but some experts believe the final bill could be closer to $1.5 billion (£1.2bn).
8. New William Beaumont Army Medical Center: due July 2019, over budget by $408 million (£318m)
Almost three years behind schedule, the William Beaumont Army Medical Center construction project at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas has been beset by problem after problem since building work began in 2013, inflating the budget of $812.8 million (£632m) by a painful $408 million (£318m).
Everything that could go wrong has it would appear, from glaring design errors and omissions to the bankruptcy of a key subcontractor. Needless to say, the original construction deadline of November 2016 has long passed.
In fact, the estimated completion date has been put back to July 2019, and the facility isn't expected to welcome its first patients until February 2020, according to a recent audit by the US Department of Defense Inspector General.
7. Navi Mumbai International Airport: due April 2019, over budget by $600 million (£467m)
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, Mumbai's shiny new international airport, which was first proposed way back in 1997, got the green light eventually in 2008, but the entire project has been marred by discord, mainly between government departments.
Bitter disagreements over the location, concerns over the ecological impact of the airport that put India's environment and civil aviation ministers at loggerheads, and protests from local villagers are just some of the issues which have delayed the project.
The foundation stone was finally laid in February 2018, but the estimated phase one completion date itself is subject to yet another dispute. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says April 2019, while Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey thinks sometime in 2021 is more likely. Adding to the drama, the original budget of $1.3 billion (£1bn) has surged to $1.9 billion (£1.5bn).
6. Crossrail: due fall 2019, over budget by $760 million–$1.3 billion (£590m–£1bn)
Europe's largest infrastructure project, the all-new railway spanning London and surrounds was scheduled for completion in 2018, with the central core of the 73-mile (118km) Elizabeth Line, named in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, slated to open in August.
The project, which kicked off in 2009, called for the construction of 26 miles (42km) of new tunnels, 31 miles (50km) of track and 10 new stations. When the Elizabeth Line eventually opens, it will serve 41 stations linking Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.
So when will the much-hyped project finally open? The central core of the Elizabeth Line will now launch in late 2019 to allow time for more testing. Together with additional cost overruns, the delay is expected to add between $760 million (£590m) and $1.3 billion (£1bn) to the final bill, which was initially pegged at $19 billion (£14.8bn).
5. Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor: due spring 2020, over budget by $8.6 billion (£6.7bn)
Construction began on a new reactor at the Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant in northern France in December 2007. Owner and operator EDF budgeted $3.8 billion (£3bn) for the project and said it would take just 54 months to complete.
Commercial operations were meant to have started in 2012. Yet a plethora of problems, from safety to equipment issues, have put a major spanner in the works, delaying the project significantly and adding billions to the costs.
Startup is now expected in the second quarter of 2020 at the earliest, eight years overdue. EDF has also had to increase the budget, and then some. The reactor is now expected to set back the French energy firm $12.4 billion (£9.7bn), a shortfall of $8.6 billion (£6.7bn).
4. Sydney CBD and South East Light Rail: due May 2020, over budget by $700 million (£545m)
Construction of Sydney's new Light Rail line, which will connect the city's CBD with the suburbs of Randwick and Kingsford, began in October 2015, and was poised for completion in April 2018. The project got off to a good enough start but was soon delayed...
Acconia, the main subcontractor, put the blame squarely on the state's Transport NSW department, claiming it was misled over the scope of the project. Acconia alleges the additional works it had to carry out put the whole shebang behind schedule and upped the costs. The situation has become increasingly nasty and acrimonious.
In April, Acconia launched an $800 million lawsuit (£625m) against the NSW Government, which denies all claims and has even accused the Spanish subcontractor of deliberately delaying the project to make more money. As it stands, the $800 million (£625m) project is $700 million (£545m) over budget and won't be delivered until May 2020 at the earliest.
3. Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park: due summer 2020, over budget by $2.3 billion (£1.8bn)
The Rams and Chargers' new stadium, which will have capacity for up to 100,240 spectators, is shaping up to be the most expensive building in Los Angeles. Work began on the state-of-the-art arena in November 2016.
The stadium was meant to launch in 2019, but construction was interrupted by winter 2017's record rainfall, and the developers were forced to put back the opening date to the start of the 2020 NFL season.
cost of the project has gone through the roof as a result of the delays. Originally set at $2.7 billion (£2.1bn), the budget has been hiked up to a shade under $5 billion (£3.9bn), a staggering overshoot of $2.3 billion (£1.8bn).
2. Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport: due October 2020, over budget by $6 billion (£4.7bn)
Planning for a new airport for Berlin started in 1989 believe it or not, but the project wasn't approved until 2006. Originally envisaged to cost $2.3 billion (£1.8bn), the airport should have opened in October 2011.
In summer 2010, the opening date was pushed back to June 2012. An embarrassing catalog of errors, from incorrectly-sized escalators to a serious shortage of check-in desks, have delayed the project further, and blown the budget by an eye-watering $6 billion (£4.7bn).
All this means Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport won't open in 2018, nor will it start welcoming passengers in 2019. The opening date has been revised to October 2020, if no further issues arise, which may be wishful thinking given the project's troubled history.
1. James Webb Space Telescope: due March 2021, over budget by $8.7 billion (£6.8bn)
The successor to the famous Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was initially envisaged in 1996. At the time, NASA estimated the project would cost $1 billion (£781m) and launch in 2007.
Since then, the budget has skyrocketed, leading science journal Nature to dub the JWST “the telescope that ate astronomy”. A series of setbacks and grave errors have marked the project, with many people wondering if it'll ever get off the ground.
The budget has mushroomed from $1 billion (£781m) to a whopping $9.7 billion (£7.6bn), and the launch date has been put back from October 2018 to March 2021, as long as everything goes to plan of course.
Projects of immense scale and complexity are never easy to execute, so it's no wonder so many are delivered late and massively over budget. We take a look at 10 notoriously problematic projects around the world and whether they're likely to be ready by their (new) delivery dates.
10. Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel: due February 2019, over budget by $600 million (£467m)
Construction of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel, aka the Highway 99 tunnel, began in July 2013, and planners were confident the vast project would be done and dusted by December 2015.
The ambitious original completion date was canned in December 2013 when Bertha, the enormous tunnel-boring machine built specially for the project, overheated and malfunctioned. Bertha was finally fixed in December 2015 and digging resumed.
A sinkhole appeared on the site in January 2016, which further delayed the project, and the tunnel won't open to traffic now until February 2019. Overdue by more than three years, the delays have swelled the budget of $2.1 billion (£1.6bn) by $600 million (£467m).
9. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: due March 2019, over budget by around $1.2 billion (£895m)
Plans for a new stadium for London's Tottenham Hotspur Football Club were announced a decade ago, but construction of the 62,062-seat arena was delayed due to objections from conservation groups, and didn't get going until September 2012.
A super-impressive project, the futuristic stadium will boast the world's first dividing retractable pitch, swish heated seats with USB charging ports and free Wi-Fi, not to mention a museum, high-end restaurants, luxurious lounges, a microbrewery and the longest bar in the UK.
Construction errors and safety concerns have pushed back the completion date though from August 2018 to early 2019. The budget has overrun big time too. The very first estimate of $390 million (£305m) has ballooned to $1.3 billion (£1bn), but some experts believe the final bill could be closer to $1.5 billion (£1.2bn).
8. New William Beaumont Army Medical Center: due July 2019, over budget by $408 million (£318m)
Almost three years behind schedule, the William Beaumont Army Medical Center construction project at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas has been beset by problem after problem since building work began in 2013, inflating the budget of $812.8 million (£632m) by a painful $408 million (£318m).
Everything that could go wrong has it would appear, from glaring design errors and omissions to the bankruptcy of a key subcontractor. Needless to say, the original construction deadline of November 2016 has long passed.
In fact, the estimated completion date has been put back to July 2019, and the facility isn't expected to welcome its first patients until February 2020, according to a recent audit by the US Department of Defense Inspector General.
7. Navi Mumbai International Airport: due April 2019, over budget by $600 million (£467m)
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, Mumbai's shiny new international airport, which was first proposed way back in 1997, got the green light eventually in 2008, but the entire project has been marred by discord, mainly between government departments.
Bitter disagreements over the location, concerns over the ecological impact of the airport that put India's environment and civil aviation ministers at loggerheads, and protests from local villagers are just some of the issues which have delayed the project.
The foundation stone was finally laid in February 2018, but the estimated phase one completion date itself is subject to yet another dispute. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says April 2019, while Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey thinks sometime in 2021 is more likely. Adding to the drama, the original budget of $1.3 billion (£1bn) has surged to $1.9 billion (£1.5bn).
6. Crossrail: due fall 2019, over budget by $760 million–$1.3 billion (£590m–£1bn)
Europe's largest infrastructure project, the all-new railway spanning London and surrounds was scheduled for completion in 2018, with the central core of the 73-mile (118km) Elizabeth Line, named in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, slated to open in August.
The project, which kicked off in 2009, called for the construction of 26 miles (42km) of new tunnels, 31 miles (50km) of track and 10 new stations. When the Elizabeth Line eventually opens, it will serve 41 stations linking Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.
So when will the much-hyped project finally open? The central core of the Elizabeth Line will now launch in late 2019 to allow time for more testing. Together with additional cost overruns, the delay is expected to add between $760 million (£590m) and $1.3 billion (£1bn) to the final bill, which was initially pegged at $19 billion (£14.8bn).
5. Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor: due spring 2020, over budget by $8.6 billion (£6.7bn)
Construction began on a new reactor at the Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant in northern France in December 2007. Owner and operator EDF budgeted $3.8 billion (£3bn) for the project and said it would take just 54 months to complete.
Commercial operations were meant to have started in 2012. Yet a plethora of problems, from safety to equipment issues, have put a major spanner in the works, delaying the project significantly and adding billions to the costs.
Startup is now expected in the second quarter of 2020 at the earliest, eight years overdue. EDF has also had to increase the budget, and then some. The reactor is now expected to set back the French energy firm $12.4 billion (£9.7bn), a shortfall of $8.6 billion (£6.7bn).
4. Sydney CBD and South East Light Rail: due May 2020, over budget by $700 million (£545m)
Construction of Sydney's new Light Rail line, which will connect the city's CBD with the suburbs of Randwick and Kingsford, began in October 2015, and was poised for completion in April 2018. The project got off to a good enough start but was soon delayed...
Acconia, the main subcontractor, put the blame squarely on the state's Transport NSW department, claiming it was misled over the scope of the project. Acconia alleges the additional works it had to carry out put the whole shebang behind schedule and upped the costs. The situation has become increasingly nasty and acrimonious.
In April, Acconia launched an $800 million lawsuit (£625m) against the NSW Government, which denies all claims and has even accused the Spanish subcontractor of deliberately delaying the project to make more money. As it stands, the $800 million (£625m) project is $700 million (£545m) over budget and won't be delivered until May 2020 at the earliest.
3. Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park: due summer 2020, over budget by $2.3 billion (£1.8bn)
The Rams and Chargers' new stadium, which will have capacity for up to 100,240 spectators, is shaping up to be the most expensive building in Los Angeles. Work began on the state-of-the-art arena in November 2016.
The stadium was meant to launch in 2019, but construction was interrupted by winter 2017's record rainfall, and the developers were forced to put back the opening date to the start of the 2020 NFL season.
cost of the project has gone through the roof as a result of the delays. Originally set at $2.7 billion (£2.1bn), the budget has been hiked up to a shade under $5 billion (£3.9bn), a staggering overshoot of $2.3 billion (£1.8bn).
2. Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport: due October 2020, over budget by $6 billion (£4.7bn)
Planning for a new airport for Berlin started in 1989 believe it or not, but the project wasn't approved until 2006. Originally envisaged to cost $2.3 billion (£1.8bn), the airport should have opened in October 2011.
In summer 2010, the opening date was pushed back to June 2012. An embarrassing catalog of errors, from incorrectly-sized escalators to a serious shortage of check-in desks, have delayed the project further, and blown the budget by an eye-watering $6 billion (£4.7bn).
All this means Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport won't open in 2018, nor will it start welcoming passengers in 2019. The opening date has been revised to October 2020, if no further issues arise, which may be wishful thinking given the project's troubled history.
1. James Webb Space Telescope: due March 2021, over budget by $8.7 billion (£6.8bn)
The successor to the famous Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was initially envisaged in 1996. At the time, NASA estimated the project would cost $1 billion (£781m) and launch in 2007.
Since then, the budget has skyrocketed, leading science journal Nature to dub the JWST “the telescope that ate astronomy”. A series of setbacks and grave errors have marked the project, with many people wondering if it'll ever get off the ground.
The budget has mushroomed from $1 billion (£781m) to a whopping $9.7 billion (£7.6bn), and the launch date has been put back from October 2018 to March 2021, as long as everything goes to plan of course.
