UK’s 5 most expensive construction projects of all time revealed costing £150bn

Five of the most expensive construction projects in the UK’s history total a whopping £150bn.

Some of these developments have made a successful contribution to the country, bringing in tourists, hosting iconic sporting events and leading to an all important profit.

Others have used up valuable time, money and resources for little positive impact.

Today, only one of them is an ongoing project with it’s future uncertain due to never-ending added costs.

Here, Express.co.uk takes a look at five of the country’s most expensive constructions projects of all time.

Channel Tunnel – £17.2bn

Construction of the Channel Tunnel between England and France started in 1988 and ended in 1994.

The tunnel has now been in operation for 28 years, but the project suffered from cost overruns, with 15,000 people employed to help during its building. It went around 80 percent over budget.

A post economic evaluation of the project stated that “overall the British economy would have been better off had the tunnel never been constructed”.

However, indpendent reports suggest it is worth more than £100bn a year to the UK and European economies, while it undoubtedly serves as an important link for travel and trade.

Wembley Stadium Reconstruction – £1.12bn

The initial budget for this project was £326.5 million, but it actually ended up costing more than £1billion.

The original Wembley Stadium was built in 1923 and was entirely destroyed to make way for the new stadium, which now is now one of the most expensive stadiums ever built.

There were many delays after attempts were made to cut corners to speed up the project and construction eventually finished in March 2007.

The stadium made back the money by 2015 after eight years, making it a worthy investment indeed – playing host to global super starts and sporting events all year round.

London Olympics Stadium – Approx £486.9m

The 2012 London Olympics brought about the construction of this stadium – this project actually finished early and under budget making it a successful addition to the city.

Construction began three months early meaning it was fully completed 16 months before the start of the Olympic Games.

The total cost of the stadium was £10 million less than the original estimate.

Following the Olympics, the stadium was redesigned and opened as West Ham United Football Club’s home ground.

HS2 – £115bn

This ongoing project is surrounded by uncertainty. The high speed railway which was planned to connect London and Scotland was initially meant to be an extensive upgrade but many setbacks and cuts have been made since the idea was first dreamt up.

Approval for the project was given in April 2020 with construction starting in September of the same year.

The controversial high speed train has caused many protests which have led to setbacks at a cost of £75 million.

After the recent change in Government, the future of the HS2 is yet to be decided.

Battersea Power Station Redevelopment – Approx £5bn

This power station in south west London has become a top hotspot for people living in the capital or visiting.

Battersea power station is a listed building, so developing the area posed challenges for investors. Previous development ideas for the space did not succeed such as an idea to turn it into a theme park.

The 42-acre former industrial brownfield site has now become home to a community of homes, shops, bars, restaurants, cafes, offices and over 19 acres of public space.

To date, £5 billion has been invested across the project, and in 2023, once the Power Station had been open for a full year, there were 11.2 million visitors who had attended.

The project has been successful and is now one of London’s main tourist attractions.