Across the world, a diverse group of mega-projects are slated for completion in 2024.
From tall towers to rail networks, airports to whole new cities, here are eight of the most interesting projects, or parts thereof, due to wind up this year.
New Administrative Capital, Egypt
$4.4 billion
The supertall skyscraper is one of the first structures due to complete in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) of Egypt.
With a total structural height of 394m it is already the tallest building in Africa. The tower has 77 floors, mostly for office use, and is one of 20 towers being built as part of the central business district in the new capital city.
China State Construction Engineering is the main contractor for the project, which employs more than 5000 workers.
The NAC is a new urban community in Cairo Governorate, Egypt, and a satellite of Cairo City. It is planned to be Egypt’s new capital and has been under construction since 2015.
Borneo, Indonesia
$52 billion
Nusantara, officially the Capital City of Nusantara, is the future capital of Indonesia and due to be inaugurated on August 17, 2024—Indonesian Independence Day.
Nusantara will replace Jakarta as the national capital, a position the latter city has held since the country’s proclamation of independence in 1945.
The site is on the east coast of the island of Borneo and is expected to encompass 2560 square kilometres.
Construction began in July, 2022, and will be completed in five phases. The first, the Government Central Area zone, will comprise government offices, schools and hospitals.
Dubai, UAE
$810 million
At more than 360m, the Ciel promises to be the tallest hotel-only building in the world when it is completed this year.
The tower was designed by NORR Group Consultants International Limited architect Yahya Jan for developer The First Group. Construction, which is being carried out by China Railway 18th Bureau Group, began in 2018.
Recesses in the upper part of the building will be home to a bar and infinity pool.
The 82-floor tower will comprise more than 1042 rooms, including 150 suites.
Mumbai, India
$3.1 billion
Navi Mumbai International Airport, Mumbai’s second airport, is due to begin operation this year.
It is being built in three phases—upon completion of the first, the airport, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, will be able to handle 25 million passengers a year.
It will be able to handle more than 90 million passengers and 2.5 million tonnes of cargo a year by its total completion in 2032.
The airport will have an area of 250,000sq m across its three terminals and a cargo area of 100,000sq m across its 9.5sq km site.
The project required the relocation of 2786 households across 10 villages.
Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
$41 billion
The Tren Maya is a 1525km intercity railway traversing the Yucatan Peninsula and was due to begin operations last month.
Construction began in June, 2020, on the line that begins in Palenque in Chiapas and travels north-east towards Cancun in Quintana Roo via two routes that encircle the peninsula.
The project aims to connect tourist destinations in the Caribbean with lesser-known sites inland, including historic Mayan sites from which it derives its name.
There will be 42 railway cars, which will have a cost of $3.15 million, which will be built at the Ciudad Sahagun plant at Hidalgo.
The controversial project was originally estimated to cost $12.6 billion, and concerns have been raised about its impact on the environment and local people.
Saudi Arabia
$1.19 billion
Due to begin coming online in 2024, Sindalah is a coastal luxury tourism project centred around beaches and islands in the Red Sea.
It is part of the Saudi’s NEOM, a city, special economic zone and legislative standout in the north-west of the Gulf state featuring four core projects that also include Trojena, Oxagon, and the headline-grabbing The Line.
The first physical showcase of NEOM, Sindalah will eventually have an exclusive beach club, three luxury hotels, yacht club, golf course, sports club and 51 luxry retail outlets, as well as residences across the 84ha site.
Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
$1.5 billion
Toyota Motor Corporation plans to next year open Woven City, a fully connected human-centered city at the base of Mt Fuji across 71 hectares.
The city will be a test track for smart mobility with three different roads: one for autonomous vehicle roads powered and managed by AI, another green road for cyclists and scooters, and a third for pedestrians.
The city will run on hydrogen fuel-cell energy technology and solar power under the concept of mobility for all. Fleets of autonomous electric shuttles will deliver goods, homes made of wood will reduce the carbon footprint and residents will monitor their health using AI-powered sensors while robots assist people daily.
Toyota plans to send about 360 people to live in Woven City to test it before growing the population to more than 2000. It is being built on the former site of the Toyota Motor East Japan Higashi-Fuji Plant.
It is designed to act as a lab for scientists, engineers and researchers to test the latest technologies in real urban environments.
Chongqing, China
Cost undisclosed
The 98-storey, 458.2m International Land-Sea Centre looks likely to be the tallest tower completed in 2024.
Work on the mixed-use skyscraper began in April, 2012 and topped out in June, 2022.
The tower is the main building for the Chongqing International Trade and Commerce Centre, an 11-tower development that is the centrepiece of the 3.6 million-square-metre Chongqing Tian Di masterplan.
The tower’s design by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates is “inspired by the sailing ships that once crowded the waters of the surrounding Yangtze and Jialing rivers”.
Upon completion it will become the tallest building in Chongqing and is likely to figure in the top 20 tallest buildings in the world.
