The Palm project, which was announced in May last year and involves the creation of the world’s two largest man-made islands, is progressing rapidly with one-third of the foundation already built for the first island off the Jumeirah coast.
This first phase of construction, known as reclamation, involves sand transfer and rock placement to create the land foundations. During this period, an estimated 100 million cubic-meters of sand and rock from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be put in place by the December 2003 projected completion date for the reclamation phase of The Palm, Jumeirah.
The full completion of the first island, primarily a residential area, is expected by end of 2005. Reclamation on the second island, which will be known as The Palm, Jebel Ali and positioned as an entertainment destination, has already begun and full completion is expected by end of 2006.
“Reclamation is the most important and complex phase in the whole project, because it involves the actual creation of the islands themselves, but we have the necessary expertise to take up the challenge”, explained Saif Sultan Al-Shamsi, managing director of The Palm’s commercial operations.
The huge amount of sand that has been dredged already to create the palm tree shape of the island off Jumeirah is beginning to be clearly visible in satellite photos taken of the area. Even more visible is the barrier reef created from the rock placement process to form the crescent-shaped breakwater around the palm tree shape.
The project is expected to greatly contribute to the status of Dubai as a premier international tourist destination. After undergoing planning and feasibility studies for four years, the project was announced and work began shortly thereafter on the first island to be built, The Palm, Jumeirah.
Upon completion of the reclamation process, the project will enter phase II and involve the building of the infrastructure and services, and will be followed by the final stage of the project involving the construction of homes, townhouses and apartments. A similar process will follow for the second island, The Palm, Jebel Ali. The end-result will be the creation of two virtually self-contained communities within the islands.
The Palm involves the creation of the world’s largest two man-made islands known as The Palm, Jumeirah and The Palm, Jebel Ali. Located just off the coast of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two palm tree shaped islands will increase Dubai’s shoreline by a total of 120 kilometer and create a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment opportunities.
The creation of The Palm is an extraordinary project of grand proportions. 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, 2,400 shoreline apartments, two marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas and cinemas.
Construction commenced in June 2001. Both islands 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)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
