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5 months ago in Project Management By Sourabh

What actually makes a project a "mega-project"?

Everyone calls the James Webb telescope or a new high-speed rail line a "mega-project." But what's the actual definition? Is it just about cost?

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By Pavitra Answered 2 months ago

Cost is the threshold (usually >$1B), but it's really about complexity and ambition. Mega-projects have extreme scale, multi-decade lifespans, and a web of stakeholders with conflicting interests. They push technological boundaries. And they almost always suffer from optimism bias planners underestimate costs and timelines because the project is uniquely difficult. That's why we study them as their own category. A big building isn't a mega-project. A particle accelerator or a space telescope is.

 

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