Mega projects represent the pinnacle of human ambition and engineering prowess, often involving colossal investments and extensive timelines. As we look beyond 2030, several monumental undertakings are set to reshape our world. Here’s an in-depth exploration of the top 10 most expensive megaprojects slated for completion after 2030.

10. Microsoft and OpenAI Data Center and Supercomputer – $100 Billion

In a bold move to advance artificial intelligence, Microsoft and OpenAI are collaborating on a data center project estimated at $100 billion. Dubbed “Stargate,” this U.S.-based facility aims to house an AI supercomputer equipped with millions of specialized chips, pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities. The project is currently in the planning stages, with operations expected to commence by 2028.

9. Forest City in Malaysia – $100 Billion

Forest City, a visionary urban development in Johor, Malaysia, encompasses four man-made islands spanning 30 square kilometers. Designed as a smart and green city, it integrates vertical greenery and cutting-edge technology to create an idyllic living environment. Despite initial challenges, including low occupancy rates, recent initiatives such as the establishment of a duty-free zone aim to revitalize the project and attract both residents and investors.

8. California High-Speed Railway – $100 Billion

The California High-Speed Rail project seeks to connect major cities across the state with a fast, efficient transportation system. With an estimated cost of $100 billion, the project has faced delays and budget overruns. However, construction is progressing, with segments in the Central Valley under development. Completion is anticipated in the 2030s, promising to transform travel within California.

7. Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor – $100 Billion

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is an ambitious infrastructure project aimed at developing industrial zones between India’s capital, Delhi, and its financial hub, Mumbai. Spanning 1,500 kilometers, the corridor includes smart cities, industrial clusters, and high-speed freight lines. With an investment of $100 billion, the project is set to boost economic growth and is expected to be completed in phases, extending beyond 2030.

6. King Abdullah Economic City – $100 Billion

Located along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is a massive development project covering 173 square kilometers. With an investment of $100 billion, KAEC aims to diversify the nation’s economy by attracting global businesses and tourists. The city features residential areas, industrial zones, and a major port. While parts of the city are operational, full completion is projected for the 2030s.

5. Silk City in Kuwait – $132 Billion

Kuwait’s Silk City, or Madinat al-Hareer, is a planned urban area intended to transform the nation’s economy. With an estimated cost of $132 billion, the project includes the construction of the world’s tallest tower, residential areas, and a free trade zone. The development aims to position Kuwait as a regional hub for commerce and tourism, with completion expected after 2030.

4. New International Space Station – $230 Billion

As the current International Space Station (ISS) approaches the end of its operational life, plans are underway for a new space station. With an estimated budget of $230 billion, this next-generation orbital platform will support scientific research, commercial activities, and international collaboration. Construction is expected to begin in the late 2020s, with full operations commencing in the 2030s.

3. Gulf Railway – $250 Billion

The Gulf Railway project aims to connect the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman—through a 2,177-kilometer rail network. With an estimated cost of $250 billion, the railway will facilitate trade and travel across the region. While progress has been slow, recent commitments suggest completion is targeted for the early 2030s.

2. Neom City – $500 Billion

Neom is Saudi Arabia’s flagship mega-project, envisioned as a futuristic city powered entirely by renewable energy. With a staggering budget of $500 billion, Neom aims to incorporate smart city technologies, sustainable living, and advanced robotics. The project includes The Line, a 170-kilometer linear city designed to house 9 million residents. Construction is underway, with significant milestones expected in the 2030s.

1. Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) – $600 Billion

The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is an ambitious initiative by the European Union to enhance connectivity across the continent. With an estimated investment of $600 billion, the project encompasses roads, railways, airports, and waterways, aiming to facilitate the seamless movement of goods and people. The comprehensive network is slated for completion by 2050, with significant progress expected post-2030.

These mega projects exemplify human ingenuity and the relentless pursuit of progress. As they come to fruition in the coming decades, they promise to reshape economies, enhance connectivity, and pave the way for a more interconnected world.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has swiftly transitioned from a futuristic concept to a cornerstone of modern technology, reshaping industries and daily life. Leading this transformation are tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Meta, each investing billions into AI development. This article delves into their strategies, financial commitments, and the broader implications of this trillion-dollar AI race.

Microsoft: Integrating AI Across the Board

Microsoft has seamlessly woven AI into its suite of products, enhancing user experience and productivity. A notable example is Copilot, an AI assistant embedded in applications like Word and Excel, designed to streamline tasks and boost efficiency. This integration has resonated with enterprises; nearly 70% of Fortune 500 companies have adopted Copilot, with firms like Vodafone reporting weekly time savings of approximately three hours per employee.

Financially, Microsoft’s AI endeavors are yielding significant returns. In the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2024, the company reported a 16% increase in revenue, totaling $65.6 billion. This growth was largely driven by Azure and cloud services, which saw a 33% increase in revenue, with 12 percentage points stemming from AI-related products and services.

To support this AI expansion, Microsoft has invested heavily in infrastructure. The company spent $20 billion in the recent quarter, evenly divided between building data centers and acquiring computing equipment like servers and AI chips. This substantial investment underscores Microsoft’s commitment to meeting the growing demand for AI services.

Google: Building a Comprehensive AI Ecosystem

Google’s approach to AI focuses on developing a complete stack, from hardware to software, to create powerful and efficient systems. The company has made significant strides in AI integration, with AI now generating about 25% of all new code at Google, subsequently reviewed by human engineers before deployment.

The impact of AI on Google’s services is evident. Google Lens handles over 20 billion visual searches each month, and AI-enhanced search features serve more than a billion people across 100 countries. In the business sector, Google Cloud, which houses the company’s AI services, grew 35% in the recent quarter, generating $11.4 billion in revenue.

To sustain this growth, Google invested $13 billion in the recent quarter, with $7 billion directed toward new data center construction specifically for AI. The company relies on a mix of custom Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and Nvidia’s GPUs to power its AI initiatives.

Meta: Embracing Open-Source AI

Meta has taken a unique approach by adopting an open-source strategy for its AI development. This means making some of its AI tools and models available to the public, fostering collaboration and innovation within the programming community.

The integration of AI into Meta’s social platforms has been substantial. AI-driven recommendations have increased time spent on Facebook by 8% and on Instagram by 6%. In the advertising domain, over a million advertisers used Meta’s AI tools last month alone to create more than 15 million ads, boosting conversion rates by about 7% for businesses utilizing AI-generated images.

Meta’s commitment to AI is further demonstrated by its investment of $9.2 billion in the recent quarter, with around 60% allocated directly to servers and AI-specific hardware. The company follows a strict five-year cycle for updating its equipment, ensuring it remains at the forefront of technological advancements.

The Broader Implications

The combined efforts of Microsoft, Google, and Meta highlight a collective belief in AI’s transformative potential. In a single quarter, these three companies collectively generated approximately $182.5 billion in revenue, with a net income of about $66.7 billion. This excludes other tech giants like Amazon and Apple, underscoring the massive scale of investment and return in the AI sector.

However, these advancements come with challenges. Building data centers is a complex endeavor, often taking up to two years and requiring locations with sufficient power and cooling capabilities. Additionally, the energy consumption of these centers is significant, prompting companies like Google to commit to powering their AI data centers with nuclear energy, aiming to generate 500 megawatts of carbon-free power.

The Enforcement Directorate Thursday conducted searches against some of the “main vendors” operating on platforms of ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart as part of a foreign investment “violation” investigation, official sources said.

A total of 19 premises of these “preferred” vendors located in Delhi, Gurugram and Panchkula (Haryana), Hyderabad (Telangana), and Bengaluru (Karnataka) were covered as part of the action, the sources said.

It is learnt that the ED inspected documents and took copies of some from the premises of about six such vendors who were not named.

The sources said a probe has been initiated by the federal agency under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after it received several complaints against the two large ecommerce companies, where it is alleged that they were “violating India’s FDI (foreign direct investment) rules by directly or indirectly influencing the sale price of goods or services and not providing level playing field for all the vendors”.

There was no immediate response from the two ecommerce companies.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) welcomed the ED action.

“The CAIT, along with several other trade bodies, has been raising these issues for the past few years. I welcome the Enforcement Directorate’s actions as a step in the right direction,” CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in a statement.

He claimed that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had also issued “penalty notices” to Amazon and Flipkart, and their “preferred” sellers, for “engaging” in anti-competitive practices that have adversely affected small traders and ‘kirana’ (grocery) stores.

It has been reported in the past that the CCI, which works to ensure fair business practices across sectors in the marketplace, is already looking into alleged anti-competitive ways of ecommerce companies.

The CAIT and mainline mobile retailers’ association AIMRA had also petitioned the CCI sometime back seeking immediate suspension of operations of Flipkart and Amazon as they alleged that the companies engaged in predatory pricing and were burning cash to offer heavy discounts on products.

These practices, in turn, are creating a grey market of mobile phones, causing losses to the exchequer “as players in the grey market evade taxes”, they had said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had recently flagged the same concerns as he had questioned Amazon’s announcement of a $1 billion investment in India, saying the US retailer was not doing any great service to the Indian economy but filling up for the losses it had suffered in the country.

He had said in August that their huge losses in India “smells of predatory pricing”, which is not good for the country as it impacts crores of small retailers.

Goyal said e-commerce companies were eating into the small retailers’ high-value, high-margin products that are the only items through which the mom-and-pop stores survive.

The minister had said that with the fast-growing online retailing in the country, “are we going to cause huge social disruption with this massive growth of ecommerce”.

Khandelwal said that the CAIT has urged the CCI and the ED to protect the businesses of small traders.

“In the new Bharat, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, no one is above the law. I am hopeful that now the law will take its rightful course and protect the livelihoods of small shopkeepers.

“This government is committed to ensuring that no entity can harm the trading community. In response to multiple complaints filed by the trading community regarding FDI violations and the anti-competitive practices of quick-commerce companies such as Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zepto, we urge both the CCI and the ED to take swift action and prevent any further, irreparable damage to the businesses of small traders,” he said in the statement.