It's all smooth sailing at The Palm

Four marinas will be built on The Palm - two on each island - capable of berthing several hundred boats. In addition, the marinas will boast luxurious amenities and innovative marine architecture certain to please the most avid boating enthusiasts.

Wahid Attalla, Director of Operations for The Palm said, "The Palm is capitalizing on its island setting to offer world class marinas with exceptional architecture, deluxe amenities and the highest level of service". He continued, "With The Palm's marinas expected to be one of the key leisure attractions on the islands we were clearly keen to participate in this years boat show. We have already been overwhelmed with interest by people at the show, clearly demonstrating to us that The Palm's marinas will become a popular venue the boating community".

The Palm has fast become an icon in Dubai with the project creating the world's two largest man-made islands. The two palm tree shaped islands are expected to contribute to the city's position as a premier global tourist destination and will increase Dubai's shoreline by a total of 120km.

The Palm's marinas will be open for both homeport and visiting vessels and are expected to become a key destination for international recreational boaters. There will be an East and West Marina on both The Palm, Jumeirah and The Palm, Jebel Ali. Between each island's two marinas there will be a yacht club, extensive retail outlets and two hotels.

The first deal to build a hotel on one of The Palm's marinas was announced in the latter half of 2002 by Innpro International. Innpro's development which will be located on the west marina of The Palm, Jumeirah is expected to cost in the vicinity of 1 billion dirhams to build and will cover in excess of 200,000 square feet.

In addition to the 4 marinas several smaller marinas will be scattered around the islands for hospitality and residential use. Attalla said, "The strong emphasis on the marina component of The Palm project was purposely developed as a tribute to Dubai's maritime traditions and these marina's will undoubtedly strengthen Dubai's marine industry position within the region".

With up to 6500 residents and thousands of tourists residing on each of the islands, a state-of-the-art marine transport system has been planned to service the islands. It is envisaged that water taxi services and hovercrafts will be utilized amongst other forms of marine transport to transfer staff, residents, tourists and goods to each island as well as between The Palm, Jumeirah and The Palm, Jebel Ali, thus creating an new industry in itself. Water will not be the only mode of transport though as a 300metre bridge will connect each island to the mainland.