Whether massively underused, debt-generating or simply left abandoned, these huge projects carried a hefty price tag yet didn’t end up being worth it. From disused Olympic stadiums to an entire city that's become a ghost town, click or scroll through these billion-dollar projects that became white elephants.

The Hambantota Port was meant to open Sri Lanka to new trading possibilities, but more than 10 years on and $1 billion (£821m) of funding later it’s dismally empty. The Hambantota area was first earmarked for development in 2002 by then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Yet the idea was put on hold as the port failed to pass feasibility studies.

Despite this, construction of the port began in January 2008, with around 85% of the project’s funding coming from the Chinese government. It was formally opened in November 2010. Yet even though tens of thousands of ships passed by the port every year, in 2018 just 300 of them actually stopped at it.

Critics of the port have claimed that the Chinese government provided the initial loan to pull the already vulnerable and in-debt country under its own influence. In December 2017, the port was handed over to Chinese ownership and control – along with the 15,000 acres of land around it. Although this cancels out its $1 billion (£821m) debt, Sri Lanka’s debt problems are far from over as other loans from China have continued. 

This bridge in Eastern Russia was dubbed by critics as the 'Bridge to Nowhere'. Crossing the Eastern Bosphorus Strait, Russky Bridge connects the city of Vladivostok to Russky Island, a former military zone that had a population of just over 5,300 at the time of construction.

The world's longest cable-stayed bridge, with a central span of 3,662 feet (1,104m), it was specially built in 2012 for an economic summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (Apec) on the island, lasting just two days. The price tag? An eye-watering $1.1 billion ($1.5bn/£1.2bn today). Ridiculously oversized and underused, Russky Bridge can handle 50,000 cars a day but rarely sees anywhere near that volume of traffic.

To its critics, the giant bridge is seen as a vanity project for the Russian government, which reportedly poured around $20 billion, $27 billion (£21bn) today, into preparations for the 2012 summit. Yet the benefits don't seem to have lasted much beyond it.

Russky Island was supposed to be developed as a tourist resort. There was even a 2021 agreement to develop a $70 million (£55mn) complex featuring an indoor waterpark, shopping and entertainment area, sports complex and Novotel-branded hotel. However, there are no details on when that will be built let alone open for business.  

As Chief Minister of India's Uttar Pradesh state during the late 1990s and 2000s, rags-to-riches politician Mayawati splurged a colossal $1.3 billion (£1.1bn) on five parks and hundreds of monumental statues. This included statues of prominent Dalit politicians, including a statue of herself (pictured left), along with scores of white elephant statues – you couldn't make it up.

Regarded by many as an obscene waste of money in a state where millions of people endure grinding poverty, the parks and statues project was heavily criticised by India's Auditor General and members of the country's National Congress.

In February 2019, the Supreme Court requested that Mayawati refund the public money used to erect the statues. In a later hearing in April, the former Chief Minister tried to defend the statues by saying they represent the "will of the people". Whether she'll end up repaying the money is unclear at the moment, but until then the parks remain under-visited and largely pointless attractions in the eyes of many.

Towering ominously above Pyongyang, the so-called 'Hotel of Doom' is a white elephant par excellence. Since construction began in 1987, the triangular 105-storey tower has swallowed up the equivalent of 2% of North Korea's entire GDP. In a country where an estimated 10.5 million people are undernourished, the lavish landmark serves as a jarring reminder of how the country's resources are being used irresponsibly.

Beset with funding and construction problems, the hotel, which has 3,000 rooms, was meant to be officially opened in 2012 but remains unfinished, unopened and unused. Poor quality materials and electricity shortages were among the issues that stalled the tower's development.

In March 2019 it was reported that new plans had emerged to resume development of the unfinished skyscraper. Included in the plans, which were broadcast on state TV, were two sail-shaped skyscrapers in the nearby area, inspired by Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel. Yet with the tower's unfinished exterior having been damaged by exposure to the elements for years, completing it looks like a tall order. What's more, it's estimated that the cost of completing the tower would be a further $2 billion (£1.6bn).

An embarrassing emblem of the Spanish Financial Crisis, Ciudad Real Central Airport opened in 2009 at a cost of €1.1 billion, equivalent to €1.27 billion ($1.4bn/£1.1bn) in today's money. Located far from Spain's tourist destinations, this is one airport that should never have seen the light of day.

Investors were sucked in by wildly overoptimistic passenger forecasts – the airport can handle up to 10 million travellers a year but only several thousand passed through during its first year of operation. Airlines ended up pulling out, the owner went bankrupt, and the airport ceased operations in 2012.

In July 2015, it was reported that the billion-dollar airport had been sold to a group of British and Asian investors for just €10,000 ($11.2/£9k). Yet the airport remains abandoned and derelict, with little known about any further development of the site.

Montreal's Olympic Stadium is considered one of the world's most notorious white elephants. Following problem after problem, the stadium wasn't even finished in time for the 1976 games, despite its massive price tag. In 2006, the cost of the stadium was estimated at CA$1.47 billion, the equivalent of US $1.4 billion (£1.2bn) in today’s money.

Work pressed on until 1987 when the roof was finally completed, and even that wasn't fit for purpose – the structure was damaged several times and a portion collapsed in 1999. The stadium has managed to attract tenants on and off over the years but hasn't had a permanent tenant since 2004, adding to its white elephant reputation. However, reports say that the cost of dismantling it would actually be greater than leaving it open for occasional use.

Currently, a German stadium construction firm has been working with the Régie des installations olympiques (RIO) to create new plans for the roof. Attempting to stay in keeping with the architect Robert Taillibert's original design for the building, while sticking to the $188 million (£155m) budget for the new roof, the aim is to put a call out for tenders this year, with the roof replacement looking to be delayed until 2024. On Canada Day on 1 July, artists including Wainwrights, Patrick Watson and Elisapie Isaac will perform at the stadium as part of a live webcast event for Montreal's celebrations.

Also in Montreal, Mirabel International Airport was opened in 1975 as a potential replacement for Dorval Airport at a cost of CA$500 million, around CA$2.4 billion (US$1.7bn/£1.4bn) in today's money. Despite being the world's largest airport when it opened, it soon became clear there were big problems with it.

For starters, Mirabel is situated an inconvenient 26 miles outside Montreal and passenger numbers suffered as a result. Airlines soon abandoned the airport for Toronto and by the time Dorval (now Trudeau) Airport had expanded in the early 2000s, flights to and from Mirabel had ceased. 

The terminal building has since been demolished, although cargo flights continue to operate to and from the airport. The vacant site has also been used for a few movie sets, including, fittingly, a zombie apocalypse film called Warm Bodies (2013).

White elephants created for sporting events are sadly all too common, and Brazil has more than its fair share. A total of 12 stadiums were built at a cost of $3.6 billion (£3bn) for the 2014 soccer World Cup.

Less than a decade has passed since the tournament, yet most of these high-maintenance venues remain either empty, underused or have been thoughtlessly repurposed. Just two years after the Wold Cup, the Estádio Nacional (pictured) in the country's capital Brasília for instance was reportedly being used as a bus depot. Meanwhile other World Cup stadiums in the country have been plagued by corruption scandals, maintenance issues and big financial losses.

What's more, maintaining the largely neglected stadiums is coming out of the public purse. According to a report by Brazilian newspaper O Globo, around $100 million (£83m) of public money was used in 2018 alone to maintain the stadiums throughout the country. In a desperate attempt to make use of the site, the Maracanã stadium (pictured) in Rio de Janeiro has turned to hosting concerts and other events, though the future of the venue remains unclear.

Built during the 1930s, the Maginot Line cost a staggering 3 billion francs to build, the equivalent of $3.7 billion dollars (£3bn) today. The line, named after war minister Andre Maginot, consisted of obstacles, fortifications and weapons stretching along France’s borders with Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg. It was designed to prevent German troops invading during World War II.

Yet it was infamous for being ineffective – to the point where the term 'Maginot Line' has become synonymous with any kind of barrier that provides a false sense of security. The line was much weaker through the Ardennes forest, where French military officials believed the terrain was too rough for the Germans to try to invade them. They were wrong, and in May 1940 the German army burst through the forest and invaded France.

For all its faults, the Maginot Line did provide some use to troops, though it probably wasn't worth the hefty price tag. As pictured here, the underground tunnels beneath the fortifications provided training and living space for the army, including air conditioning and eating areas.

The pet project of brutal dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, the gigantic Palace of the Parliament in the Romanian capital Bucharest sprawls over more than 3.9 million square feet (365,000 square metres). It's the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon and allegedly can be seen from the Moon. Swathes of the city were demolished for this wholly unnecessary project, which began in 1984.

Thousands of workers died building the structure. Work continued following Ceaușescu's execution in 1989 and the Palace of Parliament was eventually finished in 1997 at a total cost of $3.9 billion (£3.2bn) in today's money. Today, only 30% of the building is in use and the heating and electricity bill alone allegedly tops $6 million (£4.9m) a year.

There's a lot more to this gigantic building than meets the eye. Underneath, there's a network of mysterious tunnels, which were explored by the presenters of British TV show Top Gear in one episode, where the presenters were filmed driving their cars through them. The tunnels were created for Ceaușescu, who worried that he'd need an escape route to get him to the airport in case of a revolution. 

A new capital was built at a rumoured cost of $4 billion (£3.3bn) by the military dictatorship of Myanmar over a 10-year period, finishing in 2012. A vanity project of former leader Than Shwe, the capital is thought to have been moved inland following the advice of an astrologer, who warned of an amphibious US invasion via the former capital Yangon, which is located on the coast.

Myanmar's 'ghost capital' boasts wide boulevards, palatial villas, large public buildings and even a safari park. The only thing it lacks is residents. While official figures put the population at one million, the actual number of residents is close to zero, and the city represents an appalling waste of money.

The bizarre city is divided into different zones: residential zones, hotel zones, ministry zones and shopping zones, to name a few. Yet despite the enormous sums of money and extensive planning that went into creating Naypyidaw, the city remains largely a place for government buildings. Meanwhile, its infrastructure and resources are massively underused.

The British Navy commissioned two new aircraft carriers at a combined cost of nearly $7.5 billion (£6.2bn), more than double original estimates. The first, HMS Queen Elizabeth, launched to much fanfare in 2016. The second, HMS Prince of Wales, was launched in December 2017. However, they have both been labelled a grotesque waste of money by critics.

Both ships are designed to carry 40 US military aircraft, and the cost of those has spiralled too. In addition, equipment cutbacks on the carriers mean these planes cannot carry as many weapons or fly as far as originally intended. And a report claimed missiles costing a fraction of the cost of the carriers could easily disable them. At the time, UK politicians said the building of the second ship made "little sense" without sufficient planes to fly from it or ships to protect it.

In a statement in May 2019, former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Houghton poured salt in the wound. He insisted that the Ministry of Defence would "rue the day" the ships were bought, stating that the money would have been better spent on maintaining the surface fleet and providing more manpower. Just recently, the National Audit Office voiced its concerns over missing elements such as aircraft and support ships, in light of the fact that the Ministry of Defence expects the ships will have "initial operating capacity" by December. 

Athens' Olympic facilities were such an unmitigated financial disaster that they contributed to bringing down the entire Greek economy, which is still in crisis mode today. Like many purpose-built venues and stadiums, the vast Olympic facilities were not built with the long term in mind.

Flush with EU cash, the Greek government went on a crazy spending spree to prepare for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The total amount they spent on the games varies widely, but even fairly conservative estimates put it at €9 billion, around $12.8 billion (£10.6bn) in today's money.

Fast-forward to 2020 and the vast majority of the venues lie empty, while the country is still paying back its debts. Without the state providing any real plan for what would happen to the venues after the Games, they've been left to fall into disrepair. The aquatics centre has completely dried up, heaps of rubbish have been left in outdoor training pools, and monuments are covered in graffiti.

Take a look at the abandoned projects the US government spent billions of taxpayers' money on

Topping our list, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing cost a staggering $40 billion in 2008, equivalent to $47.6 billion (£39.2bn) in today’s money. Yet over a decade later the venues are a mess. The volleyball stadium (pictured) is filled with rotting wood, watersports arenas have run dry and mascots lie abandoned.

Despite conjuring up some haunting scenes, it's not all doom and gloom for Beijing's Olympic venues. The two main venues, the Bird's Nest stadium and Water Cube aquatics centre, remain popular tourist attractions, which are intended to be reused when the city hosts the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2022.

Yet the abandoned and largely derelict facilities leave a bitter taste in the mouth for many. After an estimated two million residents were removed from their homes to clear space for the games, many of them forcibly, the fact that these venues were left to wrack and ruin afterwards only adds insult to injury.

At the other end of the spectrum, these are the best-value megaprojects of all time