欧州の科学技術協力機構COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) によると、メガプロジェクトには「極端な複雑さ(技術的側面と人間的側面の双方で)および納入不良の長期記録」という2つの特徴がみられる。メガプロジェクトは、地域社会、環境、予算、関連の高額費用、に及ぼす相当な影響のため、世間から多くの注目を集める[9]。メガプロジェクトはまた、「物理的な、非常に高額な公共物の計画」としても定義できる。[10]
^Locatelli, Giorgio; Mariani, Giacomo; Sainati, Tristano; Greco, Marco (2017-04-01). “Corruption in public projects and megaprojects: There is an elephant in the room!”. International Journal of Project Management35 (3): 252-268. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.09.010.
^“Project Delivery Defined”. Federal Highway Administration. 2021-17-20閲覧。 “Prior to the enactment of SAFETEA-LU in August 2005, projects with over $1 billion in construction costs were designated as "Mega Projects". SAFETEA-LU has lowered the monetary threshold from an estimated total cost of $1 billion to $500 million or greater, and the term "Mega Project" has since been eliminated and replaced with the term "Major Project."”
^Alan Altshuler and David Luberoff, Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2003). ISBN 0815701292
^Lehrer, U.; Laidley, J. (2008). “Old Mega-projects Newly Packaged? Waterfront Redevelopment in Toronto”. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research32 (4): 786-803. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2008.00830.x.
^Flyvberg, B., Bruzelius, N., Rothengatter, W. Megaprojects and Risk: An Anatomy of Ambition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
^Locatelli, Giorgio; Mariani, Giacomo; Sainati, Tristano; Greco, Marco (2017-04-01). “Corruption in public projects and megaprojects: There is an elephant in the room!”. International Journal of Project Management35 (3): 252?268. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.09.010.
^Altshuler, Alan and David Luberoff. Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2003.
^Plotch, Philip Mark. What’s Taking So Long? Identifying the Underlying Causes of Delays in Planning Transportation Megaprojects in the United States. Journal of Planning Literature. Available online January 8, 2015.