New worlds: Man-made islands reshape the coast

Countries on the Arabian Gulf seem to be competing over designing the most sophisticated man-made islands. When project ideas on the mainland are exhausted, or the space required no longer available, then today it seems almost natural that Middle East developers create their own land mass.

One of the early examples in Dubai, which has led the world for man-made islands, was the tiny island on which the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel sites. When built, it was a great engineering feat, but today would not even register on the radar; the latest man-made island projects truly are amazing examples of modern engineering in terms of reclaiming and then building on new islands in the sea.

Here, we look at those man-made islands we consider to be the most iconic currently underway in the Middle East.

The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

Starting in Dubai, The Palms, with their fronds, were thought of as a solution for Dubai’s beach shortage. The shape depicts a national symbol of the UAE and they were the first man-made island to grab the attention of the world. The Palm trilogy incorporates Jumeirah, Jebel Ali and Deira, the largest of the three.

Despite being the smallest of the three, The Palm Jumeirah is one of the largest artificial islands in the world. It will feature hotels, a Village Centre, The Golden Mile retail area, the Shoreline Marina, and private beachside villas.

It covers 560 hectares, equivalent to 600 football pitches. Some 94 million cubic meters of sand and seven million tonnes of rock have been used to build the island and according to its developer, Nakheel, this is enough to create a two metre high and a half metre wide wall that would circle the globe three times.



To link the spine of the island (symbolizing the trunk of the tree) to its crescent (the fronds), a 1.4km long and 40m wide six-lane tunnel was built. This stretches 25 meters below the sea surface allowing 10m for boats to navigate through it.

There are 70 nationalities represented among the home owners so far, accounting for 70,000 residents. The first phase was made up of 4,000 properties, which were sold in just 72 hours. Around 8,000 residents will live on the fronds, while 700 will live on the Palm Golden Mile. As for the shoreline apartments, there will be 2,600, comprising one to three bedrooms, plus some 80 luxury penthouses.

Work on The Palm Jumeirah commenced in 2001 and is set for completion in 2010, three years later than the original completion date. Aside from being a mix use development of residential, retail, commercial and hospitality properties, the project will also host the first Trump International Hotel and Tower in the Middle East, as well as hotels from chains such as Movenpick, Fairmont, Radisson SAS, Metropolitan, Shangri La, and Atlantis.

To date, around 20% of the Marina residences on the Palm Jumeirah have been completed and handover will take place by the end of this year.

Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai

The second in the trilogy is the Dhs3bn Palm Jebel Ali, located next to the Waterfront projects, on the borders of Abu Dhabi and 22km south of the Palm Jumeirah. Work on this Palm started in 2002 and is expected to be completed by 2010.



It will use 230 million square meters of sand and eventually house 250,000 people. Like the Palm Jumeirah, it will offer a mix of commercial, retail, residential and hospitality services. It will feature around 2,000 villas, including 440 signature villas, 1,084 garden villas, a new villa design created for The Palm Jebel Ali, more than 500 waterhomes, residential apartments, and prestigious hotels and marinas.

Two separate islands make up The Palm Jebel Ali, which has a surface area of 12 million square meters. The first consists of the trunk and 16 fronds, while the second has the shape of a crescent with five segments in a semicircle around the outside of the Palm, connected via bridges. Each of the islands has its own infrastructure and bridges connecting it to the main land.

Initial reclamation is now complete and once Dubai Water and Energy Authority installs utility infrastructure in 2010, the first residences will be handed over to owners.

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