The Most Expensive Construction Projects in the World

Located in: Yesanguan, Badong County, Hubei, China
Founded: 2009
Cost: €100 million*

The bridge over the Sidu River, also known as “Siduhe”, has a length of 4,009 feet. At its longest, it is 3,000 meters long. As you can see from the impressive photos, the clear height underneath is 1,627 feet. The Yangtze River connects with the Sidu River, which forms the Three Gorges. The bridge, which was built in 2009, is not only one of the most expensive bridges in the world, but also one of the highest, surpassed only by the Duge Bridge (built in 2016) with a height of 1,854 feet.

Located in: Edinburgh, Inchgarvie, and Fife, Scotland
Founded: 1890
Cost: €120.18 million*

The Forth Bridge, built by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, two engineers from England, was voted Scotland’s greatest wonder in 2016. As it is seen as a symbol of the country, UNESCO has designated the Forth a World Heritage Site. A cantilever railroad bridge called the Forth Bridge has a length of 8,094 feet. The bridge has a length of 120 feet at the pillars, but decreases to 32 feet in the middle. The clearance is low; the bridge is only 150 feet from flood water. Balfour Beatty, the UK’s largest construction company (comparable to Fluor), has the task of maintaining the bridge, which was built around 1800.

Located in: Da Nang, Vietnam
Founded: 2013
Cost: €88 million*

It took four years to build the Dragon Bridge over the Han River in Da Nang, Vietnam. Construction began around July 19, 2009, the same day as the inauguration of the Thuan Phuoc Bridge. The ceremony was attended by numerous high-ranking Vietnamese officials. The bridge has a length of 2,185 feet and has six lanes. Ammann & Whitney, a bridge construction subsidiary of Louis Berger and a major competitor of BIP, Fluor and Bechtel, carried out the construction of this bridge at a cost of €88 million. At 21:00 on weekends, the Dragon Bridge, which is built in the shape of a dragon, spits fire and water.

Located in: Incheon, South Korea
Founded: 2009
Cost: €1.4 billion*

The Incheon Bridge is located in the city of Incheon in South Korea, named after it. The bridge’s reinforced concrete and cable-stayed construction makes it the longest cable-stayed bridge in South Korea. It is the tenth largest cable-stayed bridge in the world. The Incheon Bridge, designed and built by Samsung, a competitor of Apple, connects Songdo International Airport with Incheon International Airport. This results in a shortened travel time of one hour between the two airports, which will no doubt be appreciated by weary travelers. It is located south of Yeongjong Bridge, another popular road connection.

Located in: Amarapura Township, Burma
Founded: 1851
Cost: Unknown

construction of the famous U-leg bridge began in 1849. It was completed two years later and opened to the public in 1951. The U-leg bridge was built by engineers from Myanmar. When building the U-leg bridge, they used traditional yardsticks – they carefully counted the footsteps. It seems that this worked, as the U Bein is still standing almost a century later. U Bein crosses through Taung Tha Man Lake. The bridge is made of teak, a type of tropical hardwood. It is the oldest teak bridge in the world and spans 3967 feet. The teak wood was processed in the Inwa Royal Palace and has its origin there. U Bein is expected to get steel reinforcements from companies like Rio or PEB Steel soon.

Located in: Carrickarede, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Established: 1600s (makeshift bridge), 2008 (current bridge)
Cost: €12-€20for the crossing*

The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, unlike most of the other bridges on this list, is not designed for vehicles or trains. It’s apparently only for people brave enough to cross it. The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is located in County Antrim in Northern Ireland and provides a link between the island of Carrickarede (Rock of Casting) and the mainland. Carrick-a-Rede is a National Trust operated and maintained tourist attraction. Over 485,736 guests have walked the rickety planks. The length of Carrick-a-Rede is 66 feet and the height is 98 feet. There are, of course, only eight pedestrians who can cross it at a time. One of the “scariest” bridges in the world was named by {Fox News}.

Located in: New Territories, Hong Kong
Founded: 1997
Cost: €7.2 billion*

The Tsing Ma Bridge crosses over the Ma Wan Canal in Hong Kong. It was developed and put into service in 1992 by Anglo Japanese Construction. It is the 14th longest suspension bridge in the world. When it was completed in the 1990s, it was the second longest in the world. It is the longest for rail traffic. Tsing Ma is a bridge with six lanes. Its maximum span is 4,518 feet and the clearance height is 174 feet. The two-story bridge has a second level with two railroad tracks. To ensure safety and aerodynamic stability, the Tsing Ma was built in a wind tunnel. GM conducts the same tests before new car models go on sale.

Located in: Rouen, Seine Maritime, Normandy, France
Founded: 2007
Cost: €162.44 million*

Located in Normandy, the Pont Gustave-Flaubert is named after the writer Gustave Flaubert, who was born in the 19th century and came from Rouen. The Rouen City Council organized a competition in 2006 to determine the name. The citizens of Rouen were consulted by the city council and they voted on a choice of name. The famous writer and the Rouen-born fur trader and explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier were the final two names.

Located in: Liu Guangzhen, China
Founded: 2001
Cost: Over €5 million*

With a span of 974 feet, the Liuguanghe Bridge is the highest beam bridge in China. It crosses the Chinese National Highway 321 and is one of the twenty highest bridges in the world. The Liuguanghe Bridge runs between Bijie and Guiyang (the site of the Foxconn factories that produce iPhone parts). At the edge of a deep, steep valley, the highest pillar of the Liuguanghe is over 30 meters high. The bridge itself is 974 meters above sea level. It was only when the Beipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge was opened that the Liuguanghe was declared the “highest bridge”.

Located in: Charleston, South Carolina
Founded: 2005
Cost: €6 million*

The Arthur Ravenel, Jr. bridge, named after a South Carolina businessman, connects Mount Pleasant to Charleston, SC. The bridge was built using the design-build method and is the third longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Typically, this approach results in cost savings because the project is completed by a single entity (a designer and builder). The architect and contractor for Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge was led by Parsons Brinckerhoff, a major competitor of Emcor and Bechtel. The bridge spans 13,200 feet (2.5 miles) and has eight lanes that are 12 feet wide. The bridge crosses 186 meters of Cooper River. The highest point of the bridge is 575 meters.

Located in: City center, Singapore
Established: 2010
Cost: €66.32 million*

The Helix Bridge, officially known as “The Helix”, is an impressive structure in Singapore, especially at night when it illuminates its signature helix structure with blue and green lights. The span of this pedestrian bridge is 918 meters and connects Marina Bay Centre with South Marina. Helix is located on the Benjamin Sheares Bridge. Inaugurated on April 24, 2010 at night, and when it was fully illuminated, spectators were excited.

Located in: Langkawi, Malaysia
Founded: 2005
Cost: €1.2 million*

The Langkawi Sky Bridge is a bridge with a longitude of 410 feet. It is located in Langkawi, Malaysia and is 2,170 meters above sea level. It is located on the summit of Pulau Langkawi in Kedah. Tourists have to take a Langkawi cable car that takes them to a SkyGlide inclined elevator to view the bridge. This extra effort seems to be worth it as the Langkawi sky bridge really offers the opportunity to walk among the clouds, judging from the Disney-esque photos. LADA closed the bridge in 2012 for maintenance and modernization work. It was reopened in 2015. The designer behind this tourist attraction in Malaysia is Peter Wyss.

Located in: North Vancouver District, British Columbia
Established: 1889
Cost: €43-€47 for the crossing*

Perhaps one of the most famous bridges on the list is the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This uncomplicated suspension bridge is visited by 1.2 million people each year. opened in 1889, the footbridge is owned by a private company. Nevertheless, you should pay a fee to enter. The bridge has a length of 460 feet and stretches over the Capilano River. The forest that surrounds the Capilano ensures that it has an eerie feel when you cross it and has attracted the attention of television shows and movies such as ABC’s MacGyver and the supernatural horror series The Crow.

Located in: Lebuh Seri Wawasan, Malaysia
Founded: 2003
Cost: €17.6 million*

Seri Wawasan Bridge is located in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The cable-stayed bridge was built in 2003 and is also known as “Bridge No. 9”. It has a span of 787.4 feet. The forward leaning pylon gives the bridge a futuristic appearance that resembles a sailing ship. The bridge is illuminated in color at night to emphasize the fascinating appearance of the Seri Wawasan. Putrajaya Lake, an artificial lake for cooling, is crossed by the bridge. The planned city connects to the core island where the city’s government buildings and residential areas are located. This bridge is one of seven bridges.

Located in: 2002
Founded: Brasilia, DF, Brazil
Cost: €56.8 million*

Construction of the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge began in 2000 and was completed in 2002. It has become a landmark of Brasilia due to its unmistakable shape. Named after Juscelino Kubitschek, the former Brazilian president, the bridge is Brazil’s main pillar. The bridge was designed by Alexandre Chan and Mario Vila Verde. There is a pedestrian walkway and six lanes of traffic on the bridge, which has a span of 3,900 feet. The arches of the bridge, made of steel and concrete, are as characteristic in Brazil as the golden arches of McDonald’s in America. The crossing over Lake Paranoa provides a link between Brasilia International Airport and Brasilia on the eastern shore of the Paranoa.

Located in: Ba Na Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam
Founded: 2018
Cost: €2 billion*

The Golden Bridge we are talking about here is not the one in Germany or India, but the one in Ba Na Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam. “Golden” is a common term for bridges. The Golden Bridge is a bridge for pedestrians that is only 490 meters long. It connects the cable car station and the gardens, bypassing an otherwise steep slope. Despite its comparatively small span, it cost a considerable €2 billion to build. Two hands made of fiberglass and wire mesh hold up the Golden Bridge, seemingly supporting the structure. The bridge was designed by TA Landscape Architecture, which is similar to the American company BrightView. The construction of the Golden Bridge took place over a period of one year, from 2017 to 2018.

Located in: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Founded: 1932
Cost: €1.10 billion*

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is known as “The Coathanger” due to its special steel arch construction. It carries all types of traffic through the city center: pedestrians, trains and cars to the North Shore. The bridge and harbor, as well as the Opera House, are a symbol of Sydney, Australia. The English company Dorman Long built the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The bridge is actually an approximate replica of New York’s Hell Gate Bridge, which served as the PRR’s main transportation artery. Although there are some similarities between the two bridges, the Sydney Port Bridge is distinguished by features such as the graceful protrusions at the ends of the arches. The Sydney Port Bridge is the seventh longest bridge of its kind with a span of 3,770 feet.

Located in: Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Founded: 1673 (rebuilt in 1950)
Cost: €19 million*

The Kintai Bridge was first built in 1673 and spans the Nishiki River. It has five wooden arches and is located at the foot of Yokoyama Mountain, on which Iwakuni Castle stands. The Kintai Bridge is very popular with tourists, especially in the fall and spring. The cherry blossom festival in spring and the changing colors of the Japanese maple trees in autumn give the bridge an ethereal look that resembles a Disney movie. in 1922, the Kintai was declared a “national treasure” by the Japanese government and the bridge was maintained every twenty years. The current bridge is only seventy years old, after Typhoon Kijia completely rebuilt the bridge in 1950.

Located in: Jiangsu, China
Founded: 2005
Cost: €700 million*

The Runyang Bridge, which crosses the Yangtze River, is an important bridge. It is located in Jiangsu Province, downstream from Nanjing. Two smaller bridges connect Zhenjiang and Yangzhou. The Southern Bridge has a span of 4,888 feet and is a suspension bridge. the Southern Bridge was completed in 2005. The Northern Bridge, which is the second half of the Runyang-Yangtze River Bridge, is considerably shorter. The Northern Bridge has a length of 1,332 meters at its main span. The Runyang River Bridge has a length of 22.16 km and cost 700 million euros to build.

Found in: Sacavem, Alcochete, and Mojito, Portugal
Founded: 1998
Cost: €1.1 billion*

The Vasco da Gama Bridge is the second longest bridge in Europe after the Crimean Bridge. The Vasco da Gama stretches over a length of 7.6 km, the majority of which comprises viaducts and access roads. The Vasco da Gama helped to relieve traffic from Lisbon. Armando Rito designed the Vasco da Gama. Construction work took three years and lasted from 1995 to 1998, just in time for the World Expo in the same year. Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer. In 2016, CNN reported that divers discovered a wreck of his fleet, the Esmeralda, off the coast of Oman.

Located in: San Francisco and Marin County, California
Founded: 1937
Cost: €2.3 billion*

Designed by Joseph Strauss, the famous engineer, the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most expensive bridges in the world. Classified as one of the “wonders of the modern world” by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge between Marin County and San Francisco. Before the Golden Gate Bridge was built, residents depended on ferry service, which opened in 1920. The Golden Gate Ferry Company became the world’s largest ferry company in the late 1920s. However, Marin County officials wanted to go one step further. by 1916, the bridge had begun to garner support from residents.