You can see the flattened palms from space. Its logo-like formats include millionaires. Since the 1980s, Dubai has become the world's leading tourist and business destination. Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, is pursuing the development to eliminate the emirate's dependence on dwindling oil supplies.
But the Location Dubai's geographic location limits development : It is a small desert state with a short coastline. By the 1990s, skyscrapers and hotels dotted Dubai's Arabian Gulf coast, forming a wall of buildings, limiting space for further buildings.
In 1993, Construction of Dubai's first building began. artificial island, future home of the Burj Al Arab, the famous seven-star hotel in Dubai. The imposing structure stands out from the surrounding skyscrapers, and its location 280 meters from the sea prevents its shadow from impacting a nearby spa. The success of the Burj Al Arab on the high seas contributed to the formulation of an even larger project: immense artificial islands.
Sheikh Mohammed was the first to outline the project of the Burj Al Arab Palm as a way to maximize beachfront real estate. The smallest island's longest foliage stretched nearly a mile into the sea and contained property on both sides.
The state-owned Nakheel company has drawn up plans for three islands of palm trees. and the world of many islands. Each of the palm islands (Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira) would be built in the shape of a date palm and would consist of a trunk, a crown of leaves and surrounded by a crescent-shaped island that would serve as a break.
What happens now? Work on Palm Jebel Ali began in 2002, but Dubai's real estate market stalled and the project was no longer profitable. Nakheel has no plans to return to work. The Deira Islands, formerly called Palm Deira, are made up of four artificial islands and are also considered a tourist destination with shopping centres, resorts and hotels. The Riu Dubai Hotel was the first attraction to open in Deira Islands in December 2020 [sources: Nakheel, Nagraj]. . Meanwhile, the smaller palm, Palm Jumeirah, was completed in 2006, welcomed its first residents in the summer of 2007 and is now home to thousands of people.
Construction of Palm Island
Construction of the Palm Islands began in 2001. Water at the deepest point.
Sand covered with a water-permeable layer which prevents the formation of geotextile erosion the lowest layer of the dam. One ton (0.9 tons) of rock covers the sand, and two layers of large stones, each weighing 6 tons (5.4 tons), cover the structure. Inside the crescent is a "spike" placed by a floating crane. The pier is also equipped with two openings of 100 meters on each side to avoid stagnation in the 16 deep and narrow channels. These spaces allow the complete circulation of water every 13 days.
The palm islands are built with sand dredged from the seabed and brought from the Persian Gulf. Palm Jumeirah is made up of more than 3.2 billion cubic feet of marine sand that has been compacted by shaking to separate the palms and ensure the sand is placed within 0.39 inches.
Construction workers lived in "lingas" and on docked cruise ships as they built the island. Nakheel's designers claimed that villas located just 3 meters above sea level would be protected from rising sea levels due to global warming. Some sources claimed the islands were sinking into the sea, but Nakheel disputes that [source: Jacobs]. Some environmentalists have also said that the construction of the islands has damaged the region's marine environment. They criticized the development, saying rocks and sand had buried oyster beds and coral reefs and that disturbed currents had eroded the mainland coast.
Today Palm Jumeirah is full of villas, hotels and attractions. (According to BusinessInsider, hotels are built on the "trunk" of the palm tree, while homes are on the "leaves.") Buyers are a mix of long-term residents, vacationers and real estate speculators. Around 80,000 people live on Palm Jumeirah (although this number is thought to be 120,000) and it is a popular tourist location.
To facilitate tourism and make life easier residents, facilitate A six-lane underwater tunnel connects Palm Jumeirah to the mainland. Workers used a dam to drain the area and excavate the seabed before releasing the water. A monorail that runs the entire length of the Palm opened in 2009 and is the only public transportation option on the island.
There are always new resorts opening on Palm Jumeirah and developers financing and building luxury apartments. An observation deck opened on the 52nd floor of the Palm Tower in 2021, allowing you to see the entire island from above. And the sprawling mansions command outrageously high prices. Despite the failures of other islands off Dubai, Palm Jumeirah is a success among those seeking luxury and leisure.
The Current State Of The Islands
At the beginning of the 21st century, Dubai experienced rapid urban development, making the Arab Emirate the capital of eccentricities and architectural firsts. The most ambitious project was the construction of the Palmeras Islands, which were then joined by the archipelagos of El Mundo and El Universo, currently under construction. Overall it is a set of five artificial archipelagos, presented as a luxury oasis that has gained space compared to the sea.
- Palm Islands. Consisting of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira. They measure 5.6 km², 8.4 km² and 46.35 km² respectively and increase the surface area of Dubai's beaches by 320 km. Deira welcomed its first visitors in December 2020, while Jebel Ali is still under development and Jumeirah is the most developed of the three.
- The world. A group of 300 islands, which form the map of the world. Its 9.34 km² amount to 232 kilometers of coastline. Although the project began 17 years ago, it has not yet been completed and has encountered the most problems.
- The Universe. A replica of the constellations is expected to be completed between 2023 and 2028.
Over twenty years, various problems have led to construction delays, defaults, debts, legal problems, irreparable impacts on the environment and the sinking of some islands into the sea. .. Despite all these unforeseen circumstances that have compromised the feasibility of the project, the project promoter, Nakheel, does not give up.
The financial and real estate crisis of 2008 and the drop in oil prices in 2014, which stimulated the emirate's economy, were the first events to negatively impact the feasibility of this large project .
The chronology of events is long and complex, but can essentially be summarized in the withdrawal of private investors, the millionaire debts of the project leader, the trials and the suspension of work. . , no recovery date.
Problems still exist today. In 2018, sales of new real estate programs fell 46% in the first quarter of the year. Since the end of 2014, real estate prices have fallen by 15%.
Many real estate projects have proposed reviving “The World” project with new investors, such as The Philippine startup Revolution Precrafted, which will invest $3.2 billion in the construction of luxury apartments and a hotel.
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The World: at risk of sinking
Continue with El Mundo: In 2010, the shipping company Penguin Marine warned that this group of islands would sink into the sea again. The company in charge of providing logistics and transportation services to the islands has carried out regular measurements for safety reasons.
The main reason is that the sand on the seabed extracted from the islands to build the 300 archipelagos, gradually returned to their place of origin. A photo taken by the International Space Station in February 2010 showed that the waters of the Persian Gulf were actually rising and the islands were starting to disappear.
This, too, led to the blocking of the channels between the islands. Nakheel, the project's promoter, denied all these accusations and ended up winning the case against Penguin Marine, which wanted to terminate the contract.
Who Lives On The Islands?
Pal Jumeirah is probably the most successful of the three palm islands. Much better connected to Dubai than to the global archipelago, it is highly developed and home to many businesses, hotels and residential units, from apartments to large single-family homes. It serves as a semi-secluded luxury destination for the world's wealthy. However, the rest of the islands are still largely undeveloped or even abandoned.
Despite the extraordinary publicity such bold projects have received, with the exception of Pal Jumeirah , Man - Dubai's artificial islands are sparsely populated. Although some of them are privately owned, their current status can be easily verified without having to dig into Dubai land records. All it takes is a quick look from space using tools like Google Maps to see that, despite enormous efforts, the islands are still largely undeveloped.
High development costs and fears that they will continue to get worse are reducing the appeal of once-luxurious projects. However, there are some luxury resorts, businesses offering amenities (including private event spaces), and some residences. One of the most famous is located on the island of Greenland, in the archipelago of islands in the world, and was given to Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher in 2006.