Top 10 Construction Mega Build Disasters of 2025

Bangkok Metro Collapse

• 🚇 A sinkhole, 50 meters deep, opened up in Bangkok after a tunnel collapse during the construction of the new Vajira Hospital Station on the Purple Line.
• ⚠️ The incident, which occurred in September, led to the immediate evacuation of the hospital but fortunately resulted in no casualties.

Manchester United's New Stadium

• 🏟️ Plans for a new 100,000-seat stadium for Manchester United, designed by Norman Foster, were scaled back, removing the signature "big top" roof.
• ❌ This decision came after public and media criticism, compounded by the team's underperformance.

Saudi Arabia's NEOM Giga Projects

• 🏜️ Saudi Arabia's ambitious NEOM projects, including the 170 km linear city "The Line," faced significant setbacks, with work reportedly halted on most projects.
• 💰 "The Line" is reported to be trillions of dollars over budget, and the planned ski resort "Trojena" was still seeking a builder less than four years before its scheduled hosting of the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

Australia's Snowy 2.0 Hydro Project

• 🏞️ The Snowy 2.0 hydroelectric project experienced major delays and cost blowouts, doubling its budget to nearly $8 billion USD.
• 🚧 The tunnel boring machine "Florence" got stuck due to unexpectedly soft ground, and work was further halted due to concerns over the maintenance of refuge chambers.

Chernobyl Drone Attack

• ☢️ A Russian drone attack in February caused a 6-meter wide hole in the shelter covering Chernobyl's reactor 4, igniting a fire that took weeks to extinguish.
• ⚠️ While there is no immediate danger, the long-term integrity of the aging reactor structure is a concern.

China's New London Embassy

• 🏛️ The construction of a new Chinese embassy in London has been mired in controversy and security concerns since 2021, with multiple government decisions and resignations impacting its progress.
• ❓ As of the video's publication, the final approval status remained unclear.

Britain's Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station

• ⚡ The Hinkley Point C nuclear power station faced soaring costs, reaching 48 billion pounds due to labor and material shortages, and Brexit disruption.
• 🐟 A significant concern arose over a 700 million pound acoustic deterrent intended to protect marine life, which was criticized for its estimated low effectiveness.

Germany's Stuttgart 21 Rail Project

• 🚄 Germany's Stuttgart 21 rail project, aimed at transforming the city's main terminus into a through station, encountered issues with track gradients in tunnels and problems with its new signaling system.
• 🚫 The project's planned 2026 grand opening has been cancelled.

California High-Speed Rail

• 🚄 Plagued by delays and cost overruns since 2015, the California High-Speed Rail project faced a significant challenge when former President Trump attempted to reclaim $45 billion in federal funding.
• ⚖️ This funding withdrawal is currently being contested in the courts.

Britain's High-Speed 2 (HS2)

• 🚄 Britain's HS2 rail project has been significantly shortened and increased in cost, now estimated to be 68 billion pounds more expensive than initially planned.
• ⏳ A 29 km section linking HS2 to the mainline network has been de-prioritized, with its completion delayed by an additional four years.