The Tera-Era of Mega Projects: Digital transformation in construction

Abstract

Mary Shelley’s words from Frankenstein poignantly capture the tumultuous nature of progress we observe in today’s monumental projects.

Historically, mega projects were defined by million- dollar budgets, but the post-World War II era

ushered in ‘gigaprojects’ with billion-dollar price tags, exemplified by the Manhattan and Apollo programs. Despite this shift, the term ‘megaproject’ has persisted. We now stand on the threshold of what Bent Flyvbjerg has aptly called the ‘Tera Era’, where projects have escalated to trillion-dollar scales, now known as ‘teraprojects.’ These ventures are no longer merely large; they rival the GDPs of entire nations, comparable to the economies of Australia or Canada. This relentless quest for ever-greater scales reshapes project management, introducing profound challenges and unprecedented opportunities. As we navigate this new era, the discomfort of transformation is inevitable, but the potential for revolutionary advancements is equally profound. The break-fix model in megaproject management underscores this as a paradox: despite their growing scope and complexity, megaprojects often falter due to initial misinformation, unrealistic estimates, and flawed feasibility studies, resulting in costly interventions when projects inevitably struggle.