57. Tokyo DisneySea
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Total Cost: $4 Billion*
Year Finished: 2001
Contrary to what many people believe, Tokyo DisneySea isn’t owned, nor is it operated by Disney. That honor belongs to The Oriental Land Company, which pays the media giant licensing fees in exchange for the use of its products. It took three long years and $4 billion, but in 2001, it was finally ready for visitors.
Tokyo DisneySea ©Chuck/Wikimedia Commons
And the visitors were not disappointed. The Disney sea-themed amusement park became so popular amongst kids and adults alike that, as of 2019, it was one of the top-5 most visited parks worldwide.
58. Akkuyu Nuclear Plant
Location: İçel, Turkey
Total Cost: $20 Billion*
Year Finished: 2023
In the search for a sustainable power source, nuclear energy has a clear advantage in terms of the potential output of the energy it can harness. In 2010, Turkey decided to join the Nuclear world (in terms of energy) and began plans for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.
Akkuyu Nuclear Plant ©Akkuyu Nükleer A.Ş./Wikimedia Commons
It’s estimated that Turkey’s $20 billion project will be completed sometime in 2023. When it goes online, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is expected to be able to provide power to a little more than 10% of Turkey’s population.
59. Yankee Stadium
Location: New York, U.S.A.
Total Cost: $2.3 Billion*
Year Finished: 2009
After almost a century of housing legendary baseball players, Old Yankee Stadium, “the house that Ruth built,” was shuttered-up and demolished. In its stead, the Bronx Bombers had a new stadium built for them — “the house that Jeter built.” And it was designed to be bigger, more modern, and much more expensive than its predecessor.
Yankee Stadium ©Groupe Canam/Wikimedia Commons
The new Yankee Stadium cost $2.3 billion to build and sits on grounds three times the size of the Yankees’ old home. Its modern layout allows the stadium to be converted into an outdoor hockey arena, a football field, soccer pitch, concert venue, or even a college graduation hall. Talk about versatility!
60. Tsing Ma Bridge
Location: Hong Kong
Total Cost: $1.3 Billion*
Year Finished: 1997
If a trip to Hong Kong is on the cards, then you’re sure to see the Tsing Ma Bridge. Not only is it a 4,518-foot-long suspension bridge, but it also connects the Hong Kong International Airport to the city itself. In other words, there is no way of missing it.
Tsing Ma Bridge ©mageba sa/Wikimedia Commons
The 135-foot-wide bridge cost approximately $1.3 billion to construct. Unlike many of the other expensive bridges out there, Tsing Ma was built to accommodate not just road traffic but also trains. Due to a design error, the bridge was not built high enough for all ships to pass under, and a small fortune was lost in potential shipping revenue.
61. Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
Location: New York, U.S.A.
Total Cost: $2.7 Billion*
Year Finished: 1964
From the time it was completed in 1964 — until 1981 — there was no suspension bridge in the world that was longer than the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. As its name entails, the bridge crossed over The Narrows of New York, connecting two of the “Big Apple’s” boroughs – Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ©Ajay Suresh/Wikimedia Commons
There are not many bridges around that cost more than the $2.7 billion it took to complete the 13,700-foot Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Fortunately for the city, most (if not all) of that fee has been recuperated by the roughly 200,000 daily commuters who pay an average of $8 each to use the V-N Bridge.
62. SoFi Stadium
Location: Inglewood, U.S.A.
Total Cost: $5.5 Billion*
Year Finished: 2020
Construction of Inglewood, California’s SoFi Stadium began with its groundbreaking in the autumn of 2016. Due to a series of permit issues and mother nature’s intervention, it took nearly four years to complete, but, in 2020, the 298-acre entertainment facility was ready for visitors.
SoFi Stadium ©Troutfarm27/Wikimedia Commons
Although SOFI Stadium cost somewhere in the ballpark of $5.5 billion to build, it is home to not one but two NFL teams — the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. In other words, based on revenue from the NFL season alone, the stadium should be paid off in a few years. Then, of course, the stadium hosts concerts and other events as well.
63. Resorts World Sentosa
Location: Singapore
Total Cost: $4.93 Billion*
Year Finished: 2010
A trip to Singapore wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the island resort of Sentosa, that’s found off the country’s southern coast. The concept for this mega-project was born in 2006, and a few months shy of three years later, on Valentine’s Day 2010, its first phase was completed — the resort’s casino.
Resorts World Sentosa ©Bob Tan/Wikimedia Commons
In total, almost $5 billion have gone into the creation of Resorts World Sentosa. However, that includes more than half a dozen signature attractions and seven hotels with nearly 2,000 combined rooms. At its peak (pre-2020), Resorts World Sentosa employed upwards of 15,000 people.
64. The Golden Gate Bridge
Location: San Francisco, U.S.A.
Total Cost: $39 Million*
Year Finished: 1937
The designs of the Golden Gate Bridge were drawn up some 20 years before its completion by structural engineer Joseph Strauss, and was initially expected to run up a bill of $40+ million (remember, this was the 1930s). “The world’s most photographed bridge” wound up costing $39 million to build. In today’s money, that would be closer to around $750 Million.
The Golden Gate Bridge ©Frank Schulenburg/Wikimedia Commons
After more than four years of construction, which began in 1933, the Golden Gate Bridge opened for commuter use on May 27, 1937. At the time, this historic San Franciscan landmark was the world’s largest suspension bridge in terms of both height (746 feet) and length (main span of 4,200 feet).
65. City of Dreams, Macau
Location: Macau
Total Cost: $2.4 Billion*
Year Finished: 2009
Located in Macau, the City of Dreams is exactly what it sounds like. At least, it is for anyone who enjoys a luxurious holiday in one of the five biggest casinos in the world. There are almost three dozen restaurants and bars on the casino’s grounds, more than 2,000 hotel rooms spread across nine hotels, and more retail space than most of America’s malls (175,000 square feet).
City of Dreams, Macau ©WiNG/Wikimedia Commons
The crème-de-la-crème of Macau’s City of Dreams is its 420,000 square-foot gaming floor. If you’re looking to build your own City of Dreams in this one’s image, you’ll need to start with finding $2.4 billion and enough open space to accommodate such a large construction project.
66. Incheon Bridge
Location: Incheon, South Korea
Total Cost: $1.3 Billion*
Year Finished: 2009
Completed in 2009, South Korea’s Incheon Bridge was designed (and built) mainly by the Samsung C&T Corporation JV. At $1.3 billion, this bridge was not a cheap endeavor to undertake. However, once one sees this wonder of engineering in person, they’ll understand why it cost so much.
Incheon Bridge ©Cameron Henderson/Wikimedia Commons
The Incheon Bridge is a real-life version of one of those crazy Hot Wheels courses that kids makeover swimming pools. It spans 13.2 miles over the Yellow Sea, connecting the Incheon International Airport to the city’s central business district, Songdo, and saves commuters almost an hour each time they use it (instead of alternative routes).
67. Željava Air Base
Location: Željava, Croatia
Total Cost: $6 Billion*
Year Finished: 1968
If you’ve ever seen a film in which the characters emerge from an underground airport and thought, “that must exist somewhere,” it does — many places, actually. However, one of the largest is situated inside the Plješevica mountain in Željava, Croatia.
Željava Air Base @atlasobscura/Pinterest
The Željava Air Base is one of the largest underground airbases in Europe (and the world). Being a military base, much of what goes on there is top-secret. We do know, however, that the airbase cost approximately $6 billion to build and that it contains a 1,000-person mess hall, multiple power generators, and an underground water source. One thing you won’t get in there — Amazon Prime 2-day delivery.
68. Crown, Sydney
Location: Sydney, Australia
Total Cost: $1.68 Billion*
Year Finished: 2020
In March of 2020, three and a half years after work began on the Crown in Sydney, the building topped out — making Crown Australia’s new fourth-tallest building. The rest of the build was completed by December of that year, and the 890-foot (75-floor) tower was open for business before 2020 had come to an end.
Crown, Sydney ©MDRX/Wikimedia Commons
The Crown, Sydney is much more than a hotel. WilkinsonEyre designed this $1.68 billion 1.5 million-square-foot property to be more like Australia’s version of the Bellagio. It’s an all-in-one hotel/casino/resort with residential suites and sky villas with 360° views looking down over Sydney Harbor and the Opera house.