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11 giant infrastructure projects that could reshape Europe

Chris Weller

2017-03-14T15:15:00Z

crossrail london — London's Crossrail project is the largest construction project Europe has ever seen. Crossrail Project

It might not get the attention Dubai and China get for their massive skyscrapers and cities, but there's still plenty of infrastructure coming Europe's way.

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They include enormous railway projects that bore miles-long tunnels underground and floating solar farms that are nearly impossible to spot with the naked eye.

Here are some of the biggest infrastructure projects in Europe.

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Birmingham's Big City Plan will use approximately $12.2 billion over the next decade to transform the British city center. It'll be 25% bigger, have thousands more homes, and tens of thousands of new jobs — all in an effort to make the city greener, wealthier, and attractive to residents.

city centre birmingham

Source: Big City Plan

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A company called Northvolt plans to build Europe's largest gigafactory in Sweden, which would produce battery packs for electric cars. The $4.2 billion factory will produce hundreds of thousands of lithium ion batteries.

Tesla Motors manufacturing

Source: Fortune

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The 20-year Turkey Urban Renewal Project, a far-reaching plan to demolish some 7 million buildings and rebuild earthquake-resistant structures in their place, began in 2012 with an estimated cost of $400 billion.

turkey demolition

After 17 years of construction, the Gotthard Base Tunnel opened in Switzerland on June 1, 2016. At 35 miles long, it's both the longest and deepest train tunnel in the world, offering unprecedented efficiency when traveling through the Alps.

Gotthard Base Tunnel

Source: SBB

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Norway has committed $25 billion to the construction of a fully submerged, floating tunnel beneath the Sognefjord, a body of water more than 4,000 feet deep and 3,000 feet wide. It would link two disparate regions and be the first of its kind in the world.

norway floating tunnel

Source: Inhabitat

Russia's Moscow International Business Center, or "Moscow City," has been in development for more than 25 years and has seen $12 billion in investments. It contains many of the tallest buildings in Europe and is still only halfway finished.

moscow city

Source: Moscow City

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London's Crossrail project — a massive upgrade to the existing Underground system — is the largest construction project ever undertaken in Europe. It involves 10 new train lines and connects 30 existing stations via 73 miles of track and 26 miles of tunnels. Limited service will begin in 2017, while full service will arrive in 2020.

crossrail london — London's Crossrail project is the largest construction project Europe has ever seen. Crossrail Project

Source: Crossrail

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The Stockholm Bypass Project, set to be completed in 2025, could reduce traffic in the city by expanding a patch of the European Highway prone to heavy traffic. An additional 13 miles of underground roadway will cost about $3.5 billion; it'll be the largest tunnel near a city when finished.

sweden tunnel

Source: Swedish Transport Administration

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The Marmaray Project in Istanbul, Turkey is a massive underground railway project that has been underway for more than 12 years. When finished, it will link both sides of the Bosphorus Strait, which forms a continental boundary between Europe and Asia.

marmaray

Source: Rail Turkey

In March 2016, the world's largest floating solar farm powered up on a lake just outside London. It contains 23,000 panels, which will power a water treatment plant that provides clean drinking water to 10 million people across England.

london solar farm

Source: BBC

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The London Array is the largest offshore wind farm in the world by energy output. Its 175 turbines are capable of producing 630 megawatts of power, which could power more than 300,000 homes. It is currently mid-construction, with an estimated $2.3 billion already invested.

london array

Source: London Array

Europe Infrastructure

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