Dubai Palm Developers LLC have showcased their plans for The Palm’s marina facilities at this week’s Dubai International Boat Show. Four marinas will be built on The Palm—two on each island—capable of berthing several hundred boats.
“The Palm is capitalizing on its island setting to offer world class marinas with exceptional architecture, deluxe amenities and the highest level of service,” said Wahid Attalla, director of Operations for The Palm. “The Palm’s marinas are expected to be one of the key leisure attractions on the islands.”
Dubai’s The Palm project is 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 120 kilometers.
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 one billion Emirati dirhams ($272.24 million) to build and will cover in excess of 200,000 square feet.
In addition to the four 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 6,500 residents and thousands of tourists residing on each of the islands, a 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, creating an new industry in itself.
Water will not be the only mode of transport though as a 300-meter bridge will connect each island to the mainland. The Dubai International Boat Show is taking place at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club until March 22, 2003.
Comprised of approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand, each island will eventually support 50 luxury hotels, 2,500 exclusive residential beachside villas, up to 2,400 shoreline apartments, two marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas and cinemas.
Construction commenced in June 2001 after many years of research and planning. Each island will take approximately two years to be completely raised from the sea. A further two to three years will be required to complete the infrastructure and the buildings. The end-result will be the creation of two virtually self-contained communities within the islands. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
