Full steam ahead for The Palm Jebel Ali

Nakheel is currently employing a ground improvement technique at The Palm Jebel Ali known as vibrocompaction. The process, which is performed with specially designed vibrating probes, significantly increases the bearing capacity of the soil making it ready for construction and ensures that no subsidence of land can take place in the future.

Currently 18 vibroprobes are being used at The Palm Jebel Ali, each weighing approximately 2,600 kilograms and capable of up to 1,800 revolutions per minute, resulting in a force of 30 to 50 tonnes. The long, hollow probes go through the entire depth of reclamation until they penetrate the seabed's hard layers at average depths of 15 metres. During this process, the combined action of vibration and the jetting of water rearrange loose sand grains into a compact state. Sand is then added from the ground surface to fill the void space created by the vibrator and to ensure that any soft layers on the sea bed are densified.

Vibrocompaction increases the soil bearing capacity of reclaimed land by around 80% to create a land mass that is similar in strength to mainland Dubai. The average area being compacted at The Palm Jebel Ali on a daily basis is approximately 13,000 m2 per day, with the entire 7.5km by 7.5km island to be treated. The entire process is expected to be completed at the end of March 2008.

Marwan Al Qamzi, Managing Director, The Palm Jebel Ali, said: 'What would normally take nature a period of more than 20 years to achieve can be accomplished in just a few months using vibrocompaction. The process ensures that the reclaimed land mass of The Palm Jebel Ali is strong enough to build buildings of significant height; it also ensures that the island will not move - there's absolutely no chance that the island can sink despite the rumours that seem to circulate in Dubai!'

The Palm Jebel Ali is a landmark commercial, residential and tourism development for Dubai, which, along with the Waterfront project, will transform an area of empty desert and sea into a bustling international community, with an estimated population of 1.7 million people by 2020. With the majority of land reclamation on The Palm Jebel Ali complete, Nakheel has already begun putting in place an infrastructure which will eventually support a population of more than 250,000 people.