Mountain area: 3,500,000 m2
Average height of the mountain: 100 meters
A govt needs some area to build some stuff. I’m trying to figure out if it would be cheaper for them to remove a mountain (this area is owned by govt so its basically free real estate), or paying individual land owners ($15-20/m2).
Point of mountain removal is to make this place suitable for development (industrial area). So probably they don’t have to remove the entire mountain
You’re comparing moving 100 cubic meters of soil, so 200tons+ 10-15km away versus paying $20.
One of these is vastly more expensive than the other.
Governments would rather use eminent domain than literally move mountains.