Mega

ONE of Asia’s biggest airport projects is underway and it will make it so much easier to travel to one of the country’s most famous landmarks.

Travellers will be able to get to the beautiful Taj Mahal so much quicker – in half the time – once building work is completed.

Noida International Airport is being built near Jewar in India and once fully constructed, will be one of Asia’s biggest airports.

The first phase will include the building of one terminal and one runway -which will handle 12million passengers each year.

The long-term masterplan could see it expand to accommodate up to 120million passengers per year with multiple terminals and up to six runways.

This would make it rival Asia’s other biggest and busiest airports including Beijing Daxing and Dubai International Airport.

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Inside terminal one will be automated check-in kiosks, contactless boarding systems, spacious lounges and waiting zones.

The design of the airport is to make it easy for passengers to move about which it has done by separating the arrivals, departures and baggage areas.

There will be lots of seating too in zones between check-in, security and boarding.

The waiting areas will be air-conditioned, there will also be Wi-Fi, prayer rooms and child care areas.

As for its aesthetic, the terminal will be light and airy with a white and see-through roof that is wavy to mimic the flow of a river.

There’s a central courtyard where travellers can get some fresh air – it also has plenty of greenery and shaded areas.

Designs show escalators on the outside and inside, along with shops, restaurants and cafes.

The airport will sit in Jewar, which will make it easier for travellers heading to Agra where the Taj Mahal is.

The mausoleum that sits on the bank of the river Yamuna in Agra sees up to eight million visitors every year.

Until the airport is up and running, travellers have to fly into New Delhi before heading almost four hours south by car.

The location of Noida International Airport will cut that travel time in half – from Jewar it will take just over two hours.

As for when the new airport will open, there is no date yet although local reports suggest it could be as early as next year.

Both IndiGo and Akasa Air have confirmed they will operate at the airport, although these will be for mainly domestic destinations.

When it comes to Brits, international routes are yet to confirmed if they will be to the UK, with destinations mentioned including Zurich and Dubai.

Current UK-India routes are operated by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

The original target opening was two years ago in September 2024, however construction is still ongoing.

The airport covers around 5,000 hectares, making it one of the largest airport sites in India once fully built.

Currently, the largest in the country by land area is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad which covers over 5,500 acres.

Here’s more on what will be the biggest airport in the world…

One airport in Saudi Arabia will become the biggest in the world once finished…

King Salman International Airport is set to surpass all other airports in size, including the current biggest airport in the world which is also in the country.

The 22sqm airport will feature six runways – up from two – parallel to each other and will be built around the existing King Khalid International Airport.

It will approximately be the same size as Manhattan in New York – or twice the size of the city of Bath, in the UK.

And now the airport has moved into its construction phase.

The airport will be designed by Foster + Partners, a UK firm which is behind London‘s famous Gherkin.

Inside, travellers will be able to explore 4.6sqm of shops.

A lot of features in the airport are set to include high tech, such as climate-controlled lighted.

Travellers will have plenty of seating, indoor and outdoor spaces with greenery and vast glass windows, ideal for a bit of plane spotting.

The airport was announced back in 2022 and is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman‘s Saudi Vision 2030 – which is set to make Riyadh into a major hub for transport, trade and tourism.

It will eventually accommodate up to 120million passengers each year, which is then expected to rise to 185million by 2050.

And the number of aircraft takeoffs will rise from 211,000 per year to over one million.

For more on new airports, this new £7.8billion airport is set to be built in pretty European city after a 50-year delay.

And this new £25billion mega airport wanting to take on Heathrow and Dubai reveals latest opening update.

BY THE NUMBERS

Spending on AI is forecast to skyrocket to $2.5 trillion in 2026, dwarfing even the largest scientific and infrastructure projects.

World leaders and tech executives are convening in New Delhi for the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, focusing on the role of artificial intelligence in governance, job disruption and global collaboration.

However, behind these discussions lies the financial reality. Over the past decade, AI has drawn one of the largest waves of private investment in modern history, totalling trillions of dollars.

According to Gartner, a United States-based business and technology insights company, worldwide spending on AI is forecast to total $2.5 trillion in 2026, a 44 percent increase over 2025.

To understand the magnitude of these investments, Al Jazeera visualises the staggering amounts by comparing them with some of the largest projects ever created by humanity. We also highlight which countries are spending the most on AI and provide insights into expenditures on data centres, models, services, and security.

What does $1bn look like?

To help understand a trillion dollars, it is useful to first visualise what millions and billions of dollars look like by using a stack of US dollar bills.

If you break these amounts down using $100 bills, here is how they stack up:

• $1,000 would form a stack about 1cm (0.393-inch) high.
• $10,000 would form a stack approximately 10cm (3.93-inch) high.
• $1m would fit inside a briefcase.
• $10m would fit inside a very large suitcase.
• $100m would fit on an industrial pallet stacked waist-high.
• $1bn would create a building approximately 5.2 metres (17 feet) high, with a width and a length of about 2 metres (6.6 feet) each.

Another way to think of it is if you spent $1 every second, it would take:

• 11.5 days to spend $1m
• 31 years to spend $1bn
• 31,000 years to spend $1 trillion

In more tangible terms, $1bn is roughly equivalent to:

• The estimated cost of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, one of the largest archaeological museums in the world
• The cost of constructing two to three modern football stadiums, depending on size and design
• Buying 10 luxury private jets (at $100m each)
• Buying 6.3 tonnes of gold (at $5,000 per ounce)
• Buying 1 million high-end iPhones at retail price

$1.6 trillion already spent on AI

Over the past decade, AI-related investments have surged nearly 13-fold.

According to the 2025 AI Index Report by Stanford University, between 2013 and 2024, total global corporate investment in AI reached $1.6 trillion. This substantial expenditure dwarfs even the largest scientific and infrastructure projects of the 20th and 21st centuries.

To put the scale of AI investment into perspective, consider how it compares with some of the most ambitious and expensive projects in modern history. All figures are adjusted to 2024 US dollars:

• The Manhattan Project (1942-46): $36bn
• The International Space Station (1984-2011): $150bn
• The Apollo Program (1960-73): $250bn
• The US Interstate Highway System (1956-92): $620bn

In just over a decade, investment in AI has surpassed the cost of developing the first atomic bomb, landing humans on the moon and the decades-long effort to build the 75,440km (46,876-mile) US interstate highway network.

Unlike these landmark projects, AI funding has not been driven by a single government or wartime urgency. It has flowed through private markets, venture capital, corporate research and development, and global investors, making it one of the largest privately financed technological waves in history.

Global corporate investments in AI cover a vast array of operations, including mergers and acquisitions, minority stakes, private investments, and public offerings. These monumental expenditures highlight the extensive financial commitment to advance AI.

Which countries are spending the most on AI?

The AI investment surge is concentrated in just a few countries, where private capital has fuelled thousands of startups and shaped global innovation hubs.

The US has dominated AI spending, accounting for roughly 62 percent of total private AI funding since 2013. Between 2013 and 2024, US companies spent $471bn on AI. Chinese companies are the second-largest spenders at $119bn, followed by the United Kingdom at $28bn.

These figures exclude government spending, such as the US CHIPS Act or European national AI subsidies.

Global private investment in AI by country, 2013-24:

• US: $471bn, supporting 6,956 newly funded AI companies
• China: $119bn, 1,605 startups
• UK: $28bn, 885 startups
• Canada: $15bn, 481 startups
• Israel: $15bn, 492 startups
• Germany: $13bn, 394 startups
• India: $11bn, 434 startups
• France: $11bn, 468 startups
• South Korea: $9bn, 270 startups
• Singapore: $7bn, 239 startups
• Others: $58bn

AI spending to total $2.5 trillion in 2026

AI spending is forecast to skyrocket to $2.5 trillion in 2026, driven by a massive global build-out of data centres and services, according to Gartner.

The bulk of the spending is expected to go towards:

• AI infrastructure: $1.37 trillion
• AI services: $589bn
• AI software: $452bn
• AI cybersecurity: $51bn
• AI platforms for data science and machine learning: $31bn
• AI models: $26bn
• AI application development platforms: $8.4bn
• AI data: $3bn

By 2027, Gartner is forecasting that AI spending will surpass $3.3 trillion.

IT was when my eight-year-old son Reggie returned to our table – holding a plate of 20 Turkish delights and grinning from ear to ear – that I caved in.

“OK, we are on holiday,” I said as he merrily dished them out to his twin brother Teddie and 12-year-old sister Frankie-Beau.

In fairness, my wife Kayleigh and I had hardly set an example, because the 5-star Liberty Lykia family resort in Oludeniz, on the south-west coast of Turkey, is an all- inclusive foodies’ fantasyland.

Its huge main restaurant offers more than 100 options at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and snacks throughout the day.

On several evenings of our seven-day stay we opted to dine at one of the six sensational paid-for a la carte restaurants, starting from just €5 per child, while watching the sun set across the Mediterranean Sea.

The star of the show was an interactive, flame-fuelled, theatrical dinner of lobster and steak at the open-grill Teppanyaki.

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At the outdoor Pinara Turkish restaurant, you even get a side order of belly dancing.

And all that is just, well, for starters.

A selection of snack shacks, including a well-stocked patisserie, will tempt you throughout the day.

And there’s self-serve draft beer and wine beside the pools and the private beach.

The biggest of the many bars, Apollon, at the heart of the resort, serves more than 30 indulgent cocktails, 24/7.

Thankfully you can easily burn off the over-indulgence.

Within the 400-acre resort, which is set in a tranquil cove among pine forests and overlooked by the majestic Babadag Mountain, are tennis, padel and sandy volleyball courts, an archery area, mini-golf course, ping-pong tables, a climbing wall and two AstroTurf football pitches.

There’s also a gym and exercise classes, as well as all manner of watersports.

Look up in the sky at any time of day and you will be mesmerised by paragliders drifting down to the hotel’s landing strip.

But don’t worry, there’s no need to strap the kids in for the ride, as their every whim can be taken care of at the brilliantly welcoming and free Mini Club, which has endless activities for all age groups.

There’s even a free babysitting service.

With the young’uns entertained, we enjoyed a few hours at the more peaceful adults-only pool and bar.

There you’ll find the luxurious Ocean Spa, where you can pamper yourself with a massage while you gaze out at the Turquoise Coast, so-called because of the striking clear-blue sea. W

hen we were then finally ready to reunite with the family, we headed to the beautiful beach area designed for youngsters, complete with a wave breaker made from rocks and stones.

But the jewel in Liberty Lykia’s crown is its very own waterpark — aptly called Children’s Paradise, with its numerous slides for kids and adults.

It’s a truly vast resort, set into the hilly mountainside.

Steps are steep but there are plenty of slopes and more than enough lifts.

And if little legs are tired after a long day of thrills, on-site shuttle buses taxi you around.

You can even call reception for a golf buggy to take you to and from your room day or night.

Bands and DJs

Our room was a modern sea-view Deluxe Family Suite with walk-in shower, air-conditioning, a superking-sized bed, two single beds and a sofa bed.

The free mini bar is restocked daily so you can enjoy a drink on the balcony.

We were just a two-minute walk from the resort’s main square — a beautiful Mediterranean plaza with a wine bar, shops selling clothes, trainers, sunglasses and souvenirs, an arcade, a craft coffee shop and a boutique for handbags and shoes.

After the sun sets, the main swimming pool hosts illuminated remote-controlled boats, and the stunning outdoor amphitheatre delivers an impressive variety of West End-like productions.

The main square is the lively entertainment venue for bands and DJs taking to the stage until midnight.

It’s not quiet, so do request a room a little farther away if you have very young children.

For anyone who wants to keep the party going, there’s an underground nightclub open until 2am.

And you can stagger out into the nearby snack bar that’s open until 7.30am if, somehow, you are still hungry.

After a week of family fun and feasting in the sun, none of our clothes fit — and the dentist will have some choice words for our kids.

But we left with the wonderful aftertaste of a holiday that was, in the words of my daughter, one big Turkish delight.

A GIANT new theme park ride that’s the “tallest of its kind” in the UK has taken a major step forward.

The iconic amusement site is gearing up for a massive landmark moment as engineers have now installed the ride’s giant gondola.

Structural work has begun on the £8.72m mega attraction, with steel frameworks now emerging on site.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort is currently busy installing its newest ride – a record-breaking gyro-swing called Aviktas.

When everything is finished, the mega ride will officially be the tallest of its kind in the UK.

The scream machine will carry 40 people at a time, swinging them through a massive 120-degree arc that reaches 138ft above the promenade.

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Riders’ legs will dangle giving them the feeling of flying.

With its gigantic pendulum finally hanging in place, the structure is starting to look like a finished ride.

Frames are popping up to create the loading area where the first brave riders will eventually wait for their turn.

The latest crowd-pleaser will drastically change the way the seaside resort’s coastline will look.

While an exact opening date has not yet been confirmed, the ride is expected to welcome its first passengers later in 2026.

Amanda Thompson OBE, CEO of Pleasure Beach Resort previously teased: “This ride will be colossal, daunting, exhilarating and an incredible addition to the town.”