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The Palm Islands, namely Palm Jumeirah, Palm Deira and Palm Jebel Ali are some of the largest ever man-made structures emerging off the coast of Dubai. Shaped to resemble palm trees, all three are being developed by Al Nakheel Properties, a real estate subsidiary of the government-owned Dubai World. |
Truly unique, the islands cover among them an astounding 12 square miles, and when completed are bound to be the ‘playground of the Middle East.’ They are essentially vast tracts of land, some 90 million cubic metres of sand to be exact, churned out from the bottom of the sea.
The Palm trio would extend Dubai’s shoreline by a total of 520 kms and will encompass over 100 luxury hotels, 10,000 beachfront villas, apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports and entertainment amenities.
Palm Jumeirah
Jutting four miles into the Gulf and adjacent to the township of Jumeirah on mainland Dubai, Palm Jumeirah was the first palm project to take off (in 2001). With some 14,000 workers toiling day and night, this development is now on the verge of completion will be welcoming its first incumbents shortly.
The engineering work on Palm Jumeirah is being handled by Dutch construction firms who are pioneers in reclaiming land from the sea and creating eco-friendly, safe havens. Bridges more than 300 yards long will transport visitors from the mainland to the Palm Jumeirah; in addition there will be a canal which would serve as a conduit for water taxis. The 1.2 mile long trunk of Palm Jumeirah will have an electric monorail overhead to ferry visitors and residents to and from the island. More than 12,000 date palms are being grown in the various eco-nurseries across Dubai for the expansive parks planned on the island. /
Palm Jebel Ali
Situated off Jebel Ali in Dubai, the site of the largest man-made port in the world, Palm Jebel Ali has on its outer fringe, a string of Arabic verse composed by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the visionary ruler credited with Dubai’s astonishing transformation into a global business hub. This island features 8000 villas with shopping malls, sports facilities, clubs, public services and other recreational facilities. It is thought that Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira would require 1.3 billion cubic metres of sand and stone.
Palm Deira
Palm Deira is the third and the last of the islands to be mooted by the property developer Nakheel. Like the projects at Jumeirah and Jebel Ali, this undertaking too involves a three-pronged developmental phase– reclamation, infrastructure construction and building construction. Over one billion cubic metres of dredged sand and rock will be in place for the breakwater protection and reclaimed land of this palm project.
The Palm, Deira will be built in waters that are 6 meters deep reaching to 22 metres below sea level. In the second stage of building the island, the infrastructure construction would span the creation of Local Bridges and Flyovers and the implementation of Waste Water Collection, Storm Water Drainage, Sanitary Sewage, Irrigation and Fire fighting systems. This phase will also see the installation of several utility systems and residential facilities including Domestic Water Supply Network, Piped Gas, Telecommunications and Road Works.
When complete, Palm Deira would be roughly equivalent in size to Greater London and larger than Paris and Manhattan. Its 41 Fronds would accommodate 8,000 exclusive residential units. The Fronds themselves will vary in length, creating more land area for villa owners for extra comfort, ranging from 840 to 3,346 metres, with a distance of between 150 to 400 metres of sea between each frond.
The Crescent of the island, which will run for 21 kms., will be the largest in the world, and serve as a protective breakwater to the island.
