The Great Mosque of Mecca (Masjid al-Haram) is the most expensive building in the world. Constant expansion projects over the years have added to its cost and it is estimated to cost $120 billion in today’s money. Want to know what are the most expensive buildings in the world in 2024?
The Abraj Al-Bait in Mecca is in second place with a cost of $16 billion, which was completed in 2012. Singapore’s luxurious Marina Bay Sands resort is in third place. Here we have listed the top 10 most expensive buildings in the world in 2024. Let’s see!
Location: Ras Al Akhdar, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Estimated cost: $4.16 billion
Emirates Palace is the tenth most expensive building in the world until 2024. It is a luxurious five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The hotel project was launched in December 2001 and was initially operated by Kempinski from its opening in November 2005 until January 1, 2020.
Moreover, the hotel’s design blends Islamic architectural elements such as balance, geometry, proportion, rhythm, and hierarchical emphasis as well as modern methods of design and construction. The central dome features elaborate geometric patterns and 114 smaller domes are spread throughout the building.
The building’s colour was inspired by the various shades of sand found in the Arabian desert. The construction cost is approximately US$4.1 billion, making it the third most expensive hotel ever built, ahead of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in Las Vegas ($5.09 billion) and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore ($6.8 billion).
Location: Sincheon-dong, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea
Estimated cost: $4.31 billion
Lotte World Tower is the ninth most expensive building in the world. It is a 1,823 feet tall, 123-story skyscraper located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea. Lotte World Tower is currently the tallest building in South Korea and the sixth tallest building in the world.
Also, Lotte World Tower is a landmark of Seoul and the first 100-story building in Korea. When it was completed, it was the fourth tallest tower in the world and the tallest tower in OECD countries.
The conceptual design includes a tapered cone with convex, gently curved edges. Also, the light-coloured glass exterior draws inspiration from Korean ceramics and features metallic filigree accents.
08. One World Trade Center – $4.4 billion
Designer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Location: Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Estimated cost: $4.49 billion
One World Trade Center is ranked eighth in the top 10 most expensive buildings in the world in 2024. It is the main building of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The WTC is the tallest building in the United States and the seventh tallest building in the world.
One World Trade Center’s initial construction cost was estimated in February 2007 to be approximately $3 billion, or $1,150 per square foot. However, by April 2012 the tower’s total estimated construction cost had risen to $3.9 billion, making it the most expensive building in the world at the time.
The tower’s construction was partially funded by approximately $1 billion in insurance money that Silverstein received for his losses in the September 11 attacks.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is a luxury resort casino and hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It consists of two tall towers, the Boulevard Tower and the Chelsea Tower, both of which are 184 metres tall. The Cosmopolitan is the seventh most expensive building in the world.
The five billion dollar building includes 3,027 rooms, a 110,000 square foot casino, 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a 40,000 square foot spa and fitness facility, a 3,200-seat theatre, and 150,000 square feet of meeting and conference space.
The resort opened on December 15, 2010 and is located south of the Bellagio on the western side of Las Vegas Boulevard. In 2013, the hotel was ranked the “Best Hotel in the World” by Gogobot. In 2015, the resort was named one of the “Top Hotels in the World” on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List.
06. Wynn Palace – $5.2 billion
Designer: Butler/Ashworth Architects and Wong & Ouyang
Location: Cotai, Macau, Special administrative regions of China
Estimated cost: $5.22 billion
Wynn Palace ranks sixth among the top 10 most expensive buildings in the world. It is the second luxury integrated resort of international resort developer Wynn Resorts in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
Located in Cotai, it consists of a 28-story hotel with 1,706 rooms, suites and villas, meeting facilities, over 106,000 square feet of luxury retail, 13 casual and fine dining restaurants, Macau’s largest spa, a salon, a pool and approximately 424,000 square feet of casino space.
The resort also features a variety of entertainment experiences, including an 8-acre performance lake with choreographed displays of water, music and light, the unique Skycab, spectacular, large-scale floral displays by renowned designer Preston Bailey, and an extensive collection of art.
Apple Park is the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, California, United States. It was opened by Apple to its employees while construction is still underway. Apple Park is one of the top 10 most expensive buildings in the world in 2024, costing an estimated $5.72 billion to build.
The scale and rounded groundscraper design of the main building by Norman Foster have earned the structure the media nickname “Spaceship”. Also, located on a suburban site totaling 1.46 km, it provides accommodation for over 12,000 employees in a central four-story circular building covering approximately 64 acres.
The land was estimated to cost $160 million. In 2011, Apple Campus 2 was budgeted at just under $3 billion. However, the total cost was estimated to be closer to $5 billion in 2013, now estimated at about $5.72 billion.
04. Resorts World Sentosa – $6.1 billion
Designer: Michael Graves
Location: 8 Sentosa Gateway, Singapore
Estimated cost: $6.13 billion
Resorts World Sentosa is an integrated resort on Sentosa Island, located off the southern coast of Singapore. RWS’s major attractions include one of Singapore’s two casinos, a Universal Studios Singapore theme park and the first in Southeast Asia, the Adventure Cove Waterpark, as well as the Singapore Oceanarium, the world’s second largest oceanarium.
First conceived in 2006, the US$5.03 billion resort was developed by Genting Singapore and construction began in 2007. It was the third most expensive building ever built when it was completed in 2010.
Resorts World Sentosa is slated to be the 4th most expensive building in the world in 2024. The resort covers approximately 50 hectares of land and directly employs 15,000 people. The soft launch of the first four hotels took place on 20 January 2010, followed by the launch of the FestiveWalk shopping mall on 1 February.
Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort located overlooking Marina Bay in Singapore. It is the third most expensive building in the world. At the time of its opening, it was billed as the world’s most expensive standalone casino property at US$6.83 billion, including the cost of land.
It is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. The resort includes a 2,561-room hotel, a 120,000-square-metre convention-exhibition centre, the 74,000-square-mile Marina Bay Sands mall, shops, a museum, and a large theatre.
In addition, the complex includes three towers topped by a 340-metre-long Skypark with a capacity of 3,902 people and a 150-metre infinity swimming pool, built atop the world’s largest public cantilever platform, which rises 66.5 metres above the north tower.
02. Abraj Al Bait – $18.8 billion
Designer: Saudi Binladen Group
Location: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Estimated cost: $18.89 billion
The Abraj Al-Bait is the second most expensive building in the world, costing approximately $18.89 billion to construct. It is a state-owned complex of seven skyscrapers in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Abraj Al-Bait towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project, which aims to modernise the city for its Hajj pilgrims.
Also, the central hotel tower, the Mecca Clock Royal Tower, has the world’s largest clock face and is the fourth tallest building and sixth tallest free-standing structure in the world. Also, the clock tower houses the Clock Tower Museum which is located on the top four floors of the tower.
The building complex is 300 metres from the Great Mosque of Mecca, the world’s largest mosque and Islam’s holiest site. The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the kingdom’s largest construction company.
The buildings of the Masjid al-Haram are the most expensive buildings in the world. The cost of the Masjid al-Haram, the largest mosque in the world with a capacity of 4 million worshippers, is far more than the most expensive buildings in the world.
The Masjid al-Haram (also known as the Great Mosque of Mecca) is a mosque built around the Kaaba in Mecca in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia.
The Masjid al-Haram is the Hajj site in Mecca, which every Muslim must perform at least once in their life when they are able. Also, it is the main stage for the Umrah, a short pilgrimage that can be performed at any time of the year.
The rites of both Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages involve circling the Kaaba inside the mosque. The Great Mosque contains other important sites including the Black Stone, the Zamzam Well, Maqam Ibrahim, and the hills of Safa and Marwa.
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Hi, here a list of the top 10 most expensive buildings in the world.
What about the Berlin airport (BER)? While originally estimated to cost around 1,5 bln Euro, it ended up at 5.9 bln Euro
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!