Improvements in road construction and sailing had occurred, but shipping heavy freight over land remained expensive, even with the use of rivers and canals wherever possible.

道路设施以及航海技术都有所改进，但是即使在可以利用河流和运河的地方，船运重型货物到陆地的费用仍然很高。

youdao

More than one-quarter of the world's oil and almost one-fifth of the world's natural gas come from offshore, even though offshore drilling is six to seven times more expensive than drilling on land.

全球超过四分之一的石油和近五分之一的天然气来自近海，尽管近海钻探的成本是陆地钻探的六到七倍。

youdao

The saltwater system, however, has the advantage of not requiring expensive land and water, and it produces its own fertilizer.

然而海水种植体系有不需要昂贵的土地和淡水的优点，而且还能自身生产肥料。

youdao

But house developers are concerned it could make land more expensive and affect affordable homes.

BBC: UK Politics

Housing developers have expressed concerns about the imminent implementation of the CIL, saying it could actually end up making land more expensive.

BBC: UK Politics

The mountains cover 75% of land in the country -- despite the fact land is very expensive, we have been offered a huge amount of land to build cricket grounds, in the north, the east and the west.

CNN: The Taliban's favorite sport: Afghan cricket's battle for acceptance