The lure of mega projects Opinion May 7, 2021 Ruling elites of the world, especially those of the Global South, are in awe of large and mega infrastructure projects, pumping billions or in some cases even trillions of dollars into these capital intensive initiatives. Such projects are considered the hallmark of modern civilization with economic pundits declaring them to be the solution to all the economic ills that have plagued the global economy. For them such projects could herald an era of progress and prosperity for both the developed and the developing world. Such claims have greatly fascinated rulers across the world, prompting them to focus their attention on these expensive schemes. For instance, India spent a whopping $8 billion on the Sardar Sarovar Dam alone. Currently two more giant projects worth over $110 billion are also being undertaken by New Delhi. In addition to that, the second most populous state on the earth also planned in recent years to pump around $500 billion dollars on infrastructure projects annually until 2030. This is on top of the billions or possibly trillions of dollars that India may have spent over the last four decades.