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By Kudzai Chimuteka
- The Onshore Wind Project, Suez, Egypt
Topping this list will be one of the world’s largest wind energy projects, which will call home to Egypt and Suez to be specific. A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power will make history in 2026 when they are expected to launch a 1.1 Giga-Watt wind energy project. Once successful, Egypt will become the top producer of clean energy across Africa and one of the top in the world. The US$1.5 billion injected definitely was not a bad idea as up to 1.08 million households are expected to say farewell to power outages. Mother Earth must be elated and impressed, as this project will offset 2.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year. Now we are talking sustainable development! This ‘out of the world’ scale wind farm comes in handy as the Egyptian government makes strides to diversify its energy sources and leverage the country’s renewable energy resources in a bid to raise the share of renewables to up to 42% by 2035.
- Dubailand, Dubai, UAE
If you haven’t figured out what you will be doing in the year 2025, you might want to have Dubailand on your wish list. Dubailand will be an entertainment complex on a magnitude and scope the world has never seen, let alone imagined. What would you do with US$64 billion? The Arabs thought well… let’s build a 278-square-kilometer complex, which would contain theme parks, sports stadiums, hotels, eco-tourism, you name it! To prove sophistication, Dubailand will comfortably house three Walt Disney Worlds! Mind you, one Disney World is equal to say three Disneylands in size. Once completed, the project will contain the world’s largest hotel, boasting of 6,500 lavish rooms. Yes, this mega project has had its fair share of challenges from its inception back in 2003, including the global financial recession of 2008, but completion is expected in earnest in 2025.
- Expansion Project of International Space Station, Space
Just to blow your mind, this one isn’t really ‘in’ the world, but it is ‘of’ the world. In layman’s words, the International Space Station (ISS), is a ‘garage’ but for spacecraft (vehicles used to travel to space) which is located in space. ISS was created by a consortium of fifteen nations and five space agencies mainly between 1998 and 2011. The station serves as a space environment research laboratory in which scientific research is conducted in fields such as astronomy and physics. In this ‘garage’ spacecraft systems and equipment required for possible future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars are tested.
It’s fascinating to learn that it presently costs NASA US$3 billion to operate ISS in a calendar year, almost equivalent to our country’s national budget. But were you aware of ISS expansion plans that will cost a staggering US$60 billion? The current recommended expansion plans, though not yet finalised, could come to a total cost exceeding US$1 trillion. The ISS presently accommodates only six astronauts but if these expansion plans are to sail through, the ISS will be able to house up to one million people by 2030. Amazing.
- Mukuyu-1 Prospect, Muzarabani, Zimbabwe
Coming home and wrapping up the list is Invictus Energy. The Australian listed energy mogul, is making wonders in the Muzarabani-Mbire area on the northern part of the country. The whooping initial investment of US$16 million on the Mukuyu-1 oil and gas prospect is expected to turn tables in the energy sector and the economy on the whole. Not one nor two local pension funds, but thirty-five of them have so far joined hands and invested in this cause. With reserves estimated to be north of 20 trillion cubic feet and 845 million barrels in conventional gas condensate, business is no longer as usual. Scott Macmillan, Managing Director of Invictus Energy, says the Mukuyu-1 prospect has grown significantly in its scale and now represents one of the largest conventional exploration targets globally. While the Zimbabwean government is set to benefit up to 60% of the returns from the project, power outages are likely to be a thing of the past, thanks to the gas-to-power facility which will supply the national grid. Initial drilling is set to start this month.
