The new £77bn mega city set over sprawling islands and home to 1 million people | World | News

A £77 billion megacity set to home a million people was seemingly abandoned before it could be finished. The Khazar Islands, also known as the Caspian Islands, is a stalled development of 41 artificial islands south of Baku, Azerbaijan, extending 12 square miles into the Caspian Sea.

Businessman Ibrahim Ibrahimov launched the plans in 2010, telling reporters that a number of international investors had shown interest in the project, which he described as being like a “new Venice”. It aimed to house a million residents with 150 schools, 50 hospitals, daycare centres, parks, shopping malls, cultural centres and a university. Plans also included a Formula 1-level racing track around the £1.5billion Azerbaijan tower, which developers wanted to become the tallest building in the world.

According to Megabuilds, the Azerbaijan Tower would be a business and office space with a wide range of luxury residential and hotel facilities. The tower and all amenities were also set to be earthquake-proof.

The city was expected to be equipped with 150 bridges and a large municipal airport to connect the islands to the mainland. 

The project aimed to be completed in only 15 years with three phases,; with the first phase being the actual creation of the artificial islands.

Construction of residential development and the centrepiece tower was the second phase of this megaproject with the final phase being the round-up of all the remaining amenities and facilities in the area.

Construction began in 2011 but when the price of oil crashed in 2015, the project’s scale became a hindrance. Work was due to continue, but two years later, there was still no movement.

The final blow for the Khazar Islands came with the arrest of the island’s visionary leader, Haji Ibrahim Nehramli, due to unpaid debts. 

So, instead of a luxury oasis, empty, unfinished buildings and underdeveloped islands remain in the Caspian Sea. As of April 2025, there was no sign of any construction resuming.