Frontiers of Construction

Building the resorts and casinos of Las Vegas, NV

The rebuilding effort going on in Berlin, Germany

It's the diamond industry's frozen frontier: Canada's North. Our cameras will visit Ekati, Canada's first diamond mine-the biggest thing ever built north of the Canadian tree line. Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. is spending $1.3 billion to build a mine just 30 kilometres south of Ekati that will have a life of about 20 years. And this northern community stands to join Antwerp and Tel Aviv as one of the world's leading diamond-cutting centres.

The Dutch have been holding back the sea for more than 2000 years. This system of dikes and windmills has evolved into one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World: the North Sea Protection Works. We will find out how engineers created the 30-kilometre-long enclosure dam that collars the Zuidersee, the impressive Delta Project that protects southwest Holland and the Eastern Schelde Barrier, made of steel gates slung between massive concrete piers.

Forget the Love Boat. The cruise ships of the 21st century are floating palaces that are destinations in themselves. Take the Voyager of the Seas-the world's largest cruise ship at three times the weight of the Titanic and has her own ice rink, rock-climbing wall and plush six-storey theatre. We'll see how these holiday homes are planned and constructed.

Building Hong Kong's new airport, Chek Lap Kok.

There’s a construction boom going on in the United States: a prison construction boom. But not just for humans. Chimps are among the strongest and cleverest escape artists in the animal world. New enclosures aim for an escape-proof layout. But perhaps the greatest challenge in the world of secure construction is an invisible one: menaces such as the Ebola virus. Advanced air pressure and filtration systems, interlocking door systems and multiple mechanical systems are under construction to protect workers and the public from the worst incurable diseases inflicting humanity.