Project Database

25 projects tracked · ~$625B of project value analysed. Every published investigation with its status, budget, final cost, delay, delivery model and programme-assessment success score — failures first, then the successes that show what doing it right looks like.

Figures come from each investigation's public record; aggregate value is an approximate USD conversion across mixed currencies. Success scores are from our programme assessments (0–100), not an external rating.

Failures (17)

Projects that missed their budget, schedule, safety or mission objectives — ordered by publication.

FailureBillion Dollar FailuresAerospace & SpaceUnited States

Boeing 737 MAX

Boeing 737 MAX: How MCAS, Certification and Organisational Failures Contributed to Two Fatal Crashes

Key lesson Never Hide Hardware Problems with Software Patches

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 4/100

Programme assessment

Cost
$20B+

Delay
~20-month worldwide grounding (Mar 2019 → Nov 2020)

Delivery model
In-house derivative programme; regulator oversight largely delegated to the manufacturer…

FailureMegaprojectsAviation & AirportsGermany

Berlin Brandenburg Airport

Berlin Brandenburg Airport: How Governance, Design Changes and Technical Problems Drove Years of Delay

Key lesson Freeze the Blueprint Before You Pour Concrete

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 18/100

Programme assessment

Cost
€7B

Delay
~9 years (2011 planned → October 2020 opening; seven public opening dates…

Delivery model
Owner-managed construction (Eigenregie) without a general contractor, under a…

FailureCorporate DisastersHealthcare & Health ITUnited Kingdom

NHS National Programme for IT

NHS National Programme for IT: What Was Delivered, What Was Abandoned and Why the Programme Was Dismantled

Key lesson Do Not Replace All Systems at Once

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 10/100

Programme assessment

Cost
£12.7B

Delay
~4 years late on care records by 2008 (per NAO), then programme dismantled in…

Delivery model
Centralised national programme with exclusive contracts to large vendors (BT, CSC…

FailureMegaprojectsRail & Mass TransitUnited Kingdom

Crossrail Delay

London's £18.9 Billion Train Line: Three Years Late, Now the UK's Busiest Railway

Key lesson Software Integration Is the Real Risk

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 45/100

Programme assessment

Cost
£19B

Delay
~3.5 years (December 2018 target → 24 May 2022 opening)

Delivery model
Dedicated delivery company with tiered contractor packages; no single accountable systems…

FailureMegaprojectsConstruction & Cultural InfrastructureAustralia

Sydney Opera House

The A$102 Million Project That Became a Priceless National Icon

Key lesson Visionary Projects Need Different Governance

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 40/100

Programme assessment

Cost
A$102M

Delay
~10 years (1963 expected → 1973 opening)

Delivery model
Government-commissioned competition design, delivered as a conventional public works…

FailureCorporate DisastersHealthcare & Health ITUnited States

Theranos Fraud

Theranos: How False Claims, Weak Governance and Failed Technology Led to Criminal Convictions

Key lesson Board Composition Must Include Technical Validators

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 2/100

Programme assessment

Cost
$700M

Delivery model
Venture-funded private company with secrecy-compartmentalised R&D and a celebrity…

FailureGovernanceHealthcare & Health ITAustralia

Queensland Health Payroll

Queensland Health Payroll: How a A$6.19 Million Contract Developed Into a Major Public-Sector IT Failure

Key lesson A Fixed Price for an Undefined Scope Is a Dispute Deferred

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 5/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
A$6.19 million (fixed-price IBM contract, December 2007)

Final cost
A$1.25 billion

Delay
~21 months (contracted mid-2008 delivery → 14 March 2010 go-live after ten…

Delivery model
Fixed-price prime-contractor delivery within a whole-of-government shared-services scheme

FailureGovernanceAerospace & SpaceUnited States

Mars Climate Orbiter

Pound-Force, Newtons and the Systems-Engineering Failure Behind a Famous Number

Key lesson Verify the Interface, Not Just the Specification

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 12/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
US$327.6 million total mission cost (development US$193.1M, launch…

Final cost
US$327.6 million

Delivery model
'Faster, better, cheaper' prime-contractor build with JPL mission operations; compressed…

FailureBillion Dollar FailuresAviation & AirportsUnited States

Denver Airport Baggage System

The Automated Baggage System That Delayed an Airport by 16 Months

Key lesson Do Not Design the Building Around the Technology

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 22/100

Programme assessment

Cost
$560M delay costs / ~$200M system

Delay
16 months (October 1993 planned → February 1995 opening)

Delivery model
Public owner with a single-vendor automated system contract, adopted late and driving the…

FailureCorporate DisastersFinance & BankingUnited States

JPMorgan CIO Trading Loss

How the London Whale Lost $6.2 Billion and Exposed Shadow IT Risk

Key lesson Shadow IT Is a Governance Failure

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 15/100

Programme assessment

Cost
$6.2B

Delivery model
In-house trading operation using bespoke, manually maintained spreadsheet risk models…

FailureBillion Dollar FailuresReal Estate & Urban DevelopmentChina

China's Ghost Cities

China's Ghost Cities: How Rapid Urban Expansion Ran Ahead of Demand

Key lesson Follow the Incentives, Not the Master Plan

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 8/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
No published programme-level budget; Kangbashi New Area's build-out…

Final cost
Unknown at programme level; losses and stranded capital unquantified…

Delay
Occupancy targets missed by 10-20 years in flagship cases; Kangbashi reached…

Delivery model
State-led new town development financed by land-lease sales and off-balance-sheet LGFV…

FailureBillion Dollar FailuresMaritime & LogisticsEgypt

Ever Given: Six Days That Stopped World Trade

How a 400-Metre Ship, a Sandstorm and a Chain of Contested Decisions Blocked the Suez Canal and Triggered a $916 Million Claim

Key lesson Triggers Are Not Root Causes

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 15/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Not applicable (unplanned incident); SCA canal revenue loss estimated…

Final cost
Compensation settlement reported at ~$540 million (confidential…

Delay
Canal closed 6 days (23-29 March 2021); vessel detained a further 3 months…

Delivery model
State-owned waterway transit operations with contracted emergency salvage (SMIT…

FailureBillion Dollar FailuresAviation & AirportsJapan

Kansai International Airport

The Sinking Island: How a ¥1.45 Trillion Airport Outran the Geology It Was Built On

Key lesson Point Estimates Kill Projects Resting on Untestable Assumptions

Investigation  ·  Episode  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 18/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
≈¥1.45 trillion for Phase 1 (commonly cited, ~US$14bn at historical…

Final cost
≈US$20bn by 2008 including Island II works and settlement…

Delay
Opened on schedule (September 1994); the failure is not schedule but 30+ years…

Delivery model
Public corporation construction with government-guaranteed borrowing; later a 44-year…

FailureMegaprojectsRail & Mass TransitUnited Kingdom

HS2: How Cost, Scope and Schedule Changed Britain's High-Speed Rail Programme

From £33 Billion to over £100 Billion: How Britain's Flagship Railway Lost Major Sections of Scope and Faced Repeated Cost and Schedule…

Key lesson Never Fix the Price Before the Design

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 9/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
£33 billion (2011 estimate for the full Y-network…

Final cost
£87.7-102.7 billion (May 2026 DfT/HS2 Ltd estimate, mixed price base…

Delay
Initial services now expected 2036-2039 (Old Oak Common–Birmingham) and full…

Delivery model
Arm's-length delivery body (HS2 Ltd) sponsored by the Department for Transport, with main…

FailureBillion Dollar FailuresRail & Mass TransitUnited States

California High-Speed Rail

From $33 Billion to $128 Billion: How the Ballot Promise Became a Case Study in Megaproject Cost, Scope and Schedule Change

Key lesson Never Let a Grant Deadline Choose Your Construction Start

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 8/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
$33bn (2008 Business Plan basis for Proposition 1A; $9.95bn state…

Final cost
$88.5bn–$127.9bn for Phase 1 (2024 Business Plan range); draft 2026…

Delay
At least 13 years and counting: full Phase 1 service promised for 2020; even…

Delivery model
Public authority delivery using design-build construction packages, funded by state bonds…

FailureBillion Dollar FailuresEnergy & UtilitiesJapan

Fukushima Daiichi

A Manmade Disaster: How Japan's Nuclear Establishment Designed Out the Warning Signs

Key lesson Regulatory Capture Is a Design Flaw, Not a Scandal

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 3/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Early official response-cost estimate ≈¥11tn (2013); original plant…

Final cost
¥21.5tn official estimate (December 2016); Japan Center for Economic…

Delay
Decommissioning milestones slipped repeatedly: fuel-debris removal, once…

Delivery model
Privately operated nuclear generation under ministerial regulation; post-accident…

FailureBillion Dollar FailuresSemiconductors & Electronics ManufacturingUnited States

Foxconn in Wisconsin: The $10 Billion Factory That Never Was

13,000 Promised Jobs, More Than $4 Billion in Pledged Taxpayer Support, and the Field in Mount Pleasant Where Microsoft Now Builds Instead

Key lesson Announcements Are Not Investments

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 6/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
$10 billion promised Foxconn investment and 13,000 jobs, against…

Final cost
WEDC-verified investment of ~$717 million and 1,242 jobs by end-2024…

Delay
Generation 10.5 LCD fab never built; eight years after announcement the site…

Delivery model
Performance-based state tax credits (EITMZ) with local tax-increment financing and public…

Successes (8)

Projects that delivered broadly on time and budget — the control group for every failure above. Changi T5 is listed here while still in delivery; its row carries an 'In delivery' label, not a success verdict.

SuccessGovernanceRail & Mass TransitIndia

Delhi Metro: The Megaproject That Delivered

Delhi Metro Phase I: How Governance and Delivery Structure Supported Timely Delivery

Key lesson Build a Delivery Authority, Not a Committee

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 92/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Approx. INR 105 billion (Phase I sanctioned cost, per DMRC's public…

Final cost
Broadly in line with sanctioned budget (approx.)

Delay
None — Phase I completed December 2005, ~2 years 9 months ahead of the original…

Delivery model
Ring-fenced delivery authority with upfront financing (JICA soft loan + government…

SuccessMegaprojectsAviation & AirportsUnited Kingdom

Heathrow Terminal 5: Managing Severe Engineering Risk

Heathrow Terminal 5: Successful Construction, Difficult Operational Opening

Key lesson Risk You Pretend to Transfer Is Risk You Cannot See

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 85/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Approx. £4.3 billion

Final cost
Broadly on budget (approx.)

Delay
None on construction (opened 27 March 2008 on its revised schedule)…

Delivery model
Alliance / risk-sharing — the T5 Agreement: client-held risk, open-book cost…

SuccessMegaprojectsAviation & AirportsHong Kong SAR, China

Hong Kong International Airport: From Chaotic Opening to World Benchmark

Hong Kong International Airport: How the Opening Crisis Was Stabilised and Operations Improved

Key lesson A Fixed Political Deadline Eats Your Testing Window

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 82/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Approx. US$20 billion (airport core programme, widely reported…

Final cost
Approx. US$20 billion (approx.)

Delay
~3 months (April 1998 target → 6 July 1998 opening); cargo operations collapsed…

Delivery model
Statutory authority delivery of a ten-project Airport Core Programme with private cargo…

SuccessGovernanceSemiconductors & Electronics ManufacturingTaiwan

TSMC's GigaFab Programme: The Megaproject Machine That Never Stops

How TSMC Turned a US$17 Billion Fab From a Major Capital Programme Into a Repeatable Delivery System

Key lesson Turn Projects Into a Product Line

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 90/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Fab 18 announced at more than NT$500 billion (approx. US$17 billion…

Final cost
Not separately disclosed by TSMC; leading-edge fab costs are now…

Delay
None material: Fab 18 broke ground January 2018 and met its public commitment…

Delivery model
Repeatable single-owner programme delivery: standardised GIGAFAB template, internal…

SuccessBuildingsConstruction & Cultural InfrastructureUnited Arab Emirates

Burj Khalifa: The Supertall Megaproject That Finished on Time in a Financial Storm

How Emaar, SOM and Samsung C&T Delivered the World's Tallest Building While Dubai Faced the Global Financial Crisis and a Severe Property…

Key lesson Choose Structure for Buildability, Not Just Beauty

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 88/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Never officially disclosed; widely reported at around US$1.5 billion…

Final cost
Widely reported at around US$1.5 billion; PIA treats the figure as a…

Delay
Broadly on schedule: construction January 2004 to exterior completion October…

Delivery model
Fast-track design-build: developer retained SOM as architect-engineer of record with a…

SuccessDesign & DeliveryConstruction & Cultural InfrastructureUnited States

Apple Park: How Design Ambition Shaped a Multi-Billion-Dollar Headquarters

Inside the US$5 Billion Campus Where Product-Design Governance Met Construction — and Won, Slowly

Key lesson One Owner, One Vision, One Throat to Choke

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 85/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Reportedly under US$3 billion at 2011 proposal (media reports; Apple…

Final cost
Widely reported at around US$5 billion (Bloomberg and others; Apple…

Delay
Roughly two years against early ambitions: presented in 2011 with a 2015…

Delivery model
Single-owner, design-led delivery: Apple as empowered client with Foster + Partners and…

SuccessLand ReclamationReal Estate & Urban DevelopmentUnited Arab Emirates

Palm Jumeirah: The Island That Engineering Built and the Crash Nearly Sank

GPS-Guided Dredging, a Crescent Breakwater and an Honest Ledger: Marine Engineering Triumph, Debt-Crisis Casualty, Environmental Argument

Key lesson Hire the Industry That Has Already Solved Your Problem

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 80/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
Never officially published; the overall development is widely…

Final cost
Commonly reported at around US$12 billion for the full development…

Delay
Core reclamation and breakwater delivered roughly on the 2001-2004 programme…

Delivery model
Developer-led master development; marine works let to specialist dredging contractors…

In deliveryGovernanceAviation & AirportsSingapore

Changi Airport Terminal 5: The Most Disciplined Mega-Airport Programme Still in Delivery

In Delivery, Not Delivered: What Changi's Governance Record — T1 to Jewel — Tells Us to Watch as Terminal 5 Builds Towards the Mid-2030s

Key lesson An Honest Pause Beats a Dishonest March

Investigation  ·  PDF brief

Success score — 75/100

Programme assessment

Original budget
No single official total published; initial T5 works contracts…

Final cost
Projected — project in delivery. Only awarded contract values are…

Delay
A deliberate two-year pause (2020-2022) imposed during Covid-19 and used to…

Delivery model
State-coordinated programme delivery: tripartite governance (MOT-CAAS-CAG), phased…