Los Megaproyectos Más Inútiles del Mundo

Did you know that there is a capital that was built for millions of people, but it is still almost empty? And that the United States wasted $17 billion on a megaproject that it never used and has remained useless to this day? Let's get to know 5 of the most useless megaprojects in the world. Before continuing, remember to “like” and subscribe to Top Luxury. Share your opinion on these mega projects in the comments below. Number 5: Interstate H-3, Hawaii Let's start with a road of stunning beauty in the Aloha State: Hawaii. The 26-kilometer-long H-3 Interstate Highway runs through one of the most impressive landscapes in the world.

So much so, that there was concern that motorists would stop, causing danger. However, the highway is as controversial as it is beautiful. It was proposed in 1960 for defense reasons, since the highway would connect the southern Pearl Harbor naval base with the Marine air base on the East Coast. The announcement of its construction immediately met with resistance from environmental groups and native Hawaiians, concerned about the massive urbanization that the project would bring. Environmental laws of the time and a route change to protect surrounding valleys delayed plans indefinitely. 26 years later, the legal obstacles disappeared, as Congress exempted the project from environmental laws.

The path was cleared and construction finally began in 1989. The highway finally opened in 1997, nearly 37 years after it was proposed. Interstate H-3 is often considered an engineering marvel due to the difficult terrain on which it is built and the cutting-edge technology used in its construction. In addition to the numerous high-tech tunnels, the highway runs almost exclusively over viaducts, to protect the environment and valleys it crosses. Decades of delays, route changes and newer, but more expensive technologies quintupled the original estimated budget. The total cost was $1.3 billion, which is about $50 million per kilometer, the most expensive cost per kilometer in the world.

Despite the huge budget, this beautiful highway is not useful for everyone. Critics believe it is a "highway to nowhere" because the defense reasons of the 1960s are no longer relevant and the highway does not connect to downtown Honolulu. There is also the case of Native Hawaiians, most of whom have always refused to use the H-3. They consider it "cursed", since its construction destroyed many places of religious importance. The H-3 interstate highway is certainly an achievement as a megaproject, but for certain native groups, it remains "useless." At least, it's not completely abandoned, like the next project on our list.

Number 4: Ciudad Real Central Airport, Spain Spain is one of Europe's top tourist destinations and that was a key consideration when the idea of ​​Ciudad Real Central Airport was conceived. It was thought that it would be the destination place for both Spanish and international travelers. The idea was to turn it into an alternative to the already saturated main airport in Madrid. The new airport had one of the five longest runways in Europe and could handle 2 million passengers a year. It is relatively little, compared to Madrid's capacity of 70 million passengers. However, expansion plans were already underway to increase capacity to 10 million a year.

So when it finally came online in 2009, the $1.3 billion expense seemed justified. However, all these plans came to a halt in 2012, when the company responsible for the project declared bankruptcy. The problems began with the location of the project. Although it was called Central Airport, it was not at all, since it was located 200 kilometers from Madrid. This aggravated the problems, since passengers avoided using that distant location, which increased travel hours, so large airlines preferred to operate their flights from the capital. So, in its first year of opening, the newly built airport was reduced to a small, single airline.

Without major airlines to attract passengers, in 2012 the airport accumulated a debt of 350 million dollars. Unsurprisingly, it went into bankruptcy and went up for auction in 2013. In 2014, the airport even appeared on the hit British television show Top Gear as an abandoned location. After multiple auction failures, including an outrageous $12,000 bid, the airport finally had new owners in 2019. As business and profits fell during the Covid-19 pandemic, Ciudad Real airport got a lifeline. With little hope that passengers would return, the new owners took advantage of its dry climate, long runway and spaciousness to reinvent the airport as a home for grounded planes.

As of August 2020, it housed 65 aircraft, with expansions underway to accommodate more than 300. This warehouse approach gave the airport a much-needed business opportunity. But when the pandemic is over, planes will fly again and a return to normal flight operations will remain elusive. This billion-dollar megaproject remains effectively useless to passengers around the world. Number 3: Naypyidaw, Myanmar Next up is another mega project that became Top Gear. However, this is not just a remote airport, but the capital of Myanmar, a new capital built from scratch. Myanmar's former military leaders began secretly building a new capital in 2002. Changing a country's capital is not unheard of, as many countries, such as Brazil, Egypt and Pakistan, have done so in the past.

In November 2005, Myanmar's leader announced his decision to the public, but kept the name secret. It wasn't until 4 months later when he revealed it: Naypyidaw, which literally means "The King's Residence." The reasons for this sudden capital shift are unclear. Some speculated that the military leadership feared an attack from the sea, while others thought it was on the advice of astrologers. However, a lot had to do with the ancient capital, Rangoon. 7 million people live in Yangon. The city has reached its infrastructure limits and its population will have doubled by 2050. Furthermore, the capital was established on the coast during British rule to benefit the English navy.

But once independent, it was logical for Myanmar to move its capital to a more central location. The new project was built quickly and, to date, successive governments have invested $4 billion in the city. Naypyidaw has everything to attract visitors: a 20-lane highway, more than 100 luxury hotels divided into three hotel districts, golf courses, museums and even a 99-meter-high replica of a monument originally located in Yangon. But there is an essential component that is still missing: The population. The new capital has less than a million inhabitants, most of whom reside in the outskirts, which already existed before the city became the capital.

But why doesn't anyone want to live there? The persistent lack of health facilities, lack of quality educational centers and economic opportunities make the majority reluctant to establish their permanent home there. For this reason, the city often gives the image of a desert place and is often called a "ghost city." The incredible 20-lane highway is practically empty. Not only does it never experience traffic jams, but sometimes a solitary car appears drifting down the tremendous road. The city has an airport that can handle 3.5 million passengers a year, but on a busy day, a dozen people use it. Shopping centers are only visited on weekends by diplomatic staff, and hotel lobbies are almost empty.

Despite the apparent sterility, there is a silver lining for the "royal capital." It is built as a city of the future and, with the population explosion, Naypyidaw still has time for inevitable redemption. For now, it is possibly the strangest capital in the world and remains useless to much of the country's population. Number 2: Forest City, Malaysia And from a ghost city, we move on to talk about a green, futuristic and intelligent city, which will rise on land reclaimed from the sea on four artificial islands and will be built around an artificial forest ecosystem. Forest City's location makes it an attractive bet for investors seeking to benefit from its proximity to the independent city-state of Singapore.

Singapore has the world's second busiest port and a thriving economy. The developers have already connected Forest City to Singapore via a second bridge, shortening the distance between them to just 20 minutes. Forest City will also have its own customs, allowing residents to move freely to Singapore and vice versa. The design plans to incorporate many ecological innovations. Forest City will have buildings with green roofs and vertical gardens, for a jungle experience. The streets are designed in multiple layers, with the bottom layer for traffic and parking, while the top layer will feature parks, sports facilities and transportation hubs. The city will be powered exclusively by renewable energy and will be completed in 2035 at a cost of 100 billion dollars.

One of the four proposed islands is nearing completion with 50 apartment buildings, golf courses, swimming pools and beaches on board. However, not everything is a bed of roses for this ambitious project. Many economic and political impediments hinder its progress. The project is primarily funded by China, and Chinese residents had virtually free access to the city in the early years of its construction. As a result, wealthy Chinese investors who could not afford the more expensive apartments in their own country moved to Forest City. In 2019, 80% of the owners were Chinese. Even the street signs were in Mandarin and the few schools in the area offered Mandarin courses.

Malaysians simply cannot afford these apartments as the prices are set solely with the Chinese market in mind. This influx of Chinese investors sparked a public outcry, with critics of the project calling it a new form of colonialism. So, when Mahatir Mohammad became Prime Minister again, he banned foreigners from owning property in Forest City. Many foreigners left the city and new buyers were discouraged. The next big setback came with the pandemic and worldwide travel bans. As part of the control, Malaysia prevented the entry of new investors and many of those who existed chose to leave due to uncertainty.

Thus, at the beginning of 2020, less than 500 people lived in the developments, a very low figure considering that Forest City is designed for 700,000 people. The project has not been safe since then and some salespeople claim that fewer than 10 homes have been sold in Forest City since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, Country Garden has laid off more than 1,000 Malaysian workers in the past year, signaling a definite decline in the project's fortunes. Forest City was probably a very ambitious project from the beginning, too futuristic to achieve, and with too many political impediments to succeed in the short term.

Despite the billions invested, it is already a fact that Forest City is currently a useless megaproject. Number 1: Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository We will conclude this list with a mega project that was planned with a globally sensitive issue in mind. Nuclear waste is not talked about as much as other environmental problems. However, if not stored properly, they can be more deadly than anything known since the beginning of civilization. Currently, nuclear waste is stored above ground, near the plants that originated it. However, the scientific community agrees that the safest and most permanent solution for their elimination is to bury them deep underground.

In the 1980s, American authorities began searching for a solution to this growing problem. In 1987, Yucca Mountain in Nevada seemed like the best option available. It was close to the most active nuclear testing site in the United States and far from any urban center. The plan was to deposit waste from across the country in a complex of tunnels about 300 meters beneath Yucca Mountain. In addition to the isolated location, Yucca Mountain is made up of volcanic ash formed millions of years ago. This allows Yucca Mountain to absorb any radioactive waste without crumbling or cracking. Yucca Mountain seemed, on paper, a good location for a waste disposal site, but Nevadans weren't having it.

The United States has more than 100 operational and closed nuclear reactor sites in 34 states, but none of them in Nevada. So congressmen and the general public strongly opposed the idea of ​​being the country's only nuclear dump. Additionally, the official hydrological and geological studies of Yucca Mountain were questioned. Opponents believed that the place was not suitable as a landfill, due to the risk of contaminating a nearby spring. Its waters flow into Amargosa Valley and havebeen used by the natives of the area for centuries. Despite opposition, the project won approval in 2002 and the Department of Energy resumed construction. However, Nevada's opposition grew stronger.

They argued that continued exposure during transportation would stigmatize Nevadans and affect tourism in the state. For the opposition, the only reason Nevada was getting the deposit was because of its small population and low representation in Congress. By the time Barack Obama became president, the project had become politicized and in 2010 the Obama administration deemed the project unviable and stopped funding it. Three years later, a federal court ordered it to resume again, but it has made little progress since then. The Biden administration has openly stated that Yucca Mountain is no longer part of the country's plans. Nevada appears to have won the battle.

Decades of planning, legal problems and more than 17 billion dollars invested in the Yucca Mountain project, but in the end it is a fact: it has never been used and remains a "useless" megaproject. What do you think of these megaprojects? Do you think any of them have a chance of being useful in the future? Tell us in the comments below. If you want to see more about similar projects, watch our video on "Demolitions of the world's tallest buildings." Thanks for watching, and see you in the next video!