Palm Islands

The Palm Islands in Dubai are the three largest artificial islands in the world, being constructed by Al Nakheel Properties in the United Arab Emirates. Each settlement will be in the shape of a palm tree topped with a crescent and will have residential communities and resorts built upon them. It is possible to make these islands due to the wide continental shelf off the Dubai coast and the relatively shallow depth of the Persian Gulf.

They were built as part of the plan to develop tourism in Dubai to replace the oil-centric economy there, as the UAE's oil reserves are expected to be depleted by 2016. The goal is to become one of the biggest areas in the world for tourism.

The islands will be built by the Dutch company Van Oord Dredging from 80,000,000 m³ landmass from the approach channel. While The Palm, Jeleb Ali is being built by Jan De Nul.

The Palm, Jumeirah

The Palm, Jumeirah began construction in June 2001 and was expected to be completed in 2006. Due to design changes the expected completion date is now December 2007 ^*. There are plans for three five-star hotels to be built on The Palm, Jumeirah each with a distinctive national theme: Okinawa, Brazil, and Venice. The Palm's leaves will be covered in luxury holiday homes, when these went on sale in 2004, they were all sold with in three days of being put on the market; notable purchasers include the Beckhams.

Construction

The Palm is constructed of sand islands that are made of sand dredged from the bottom of the Gulf which is conveniently narrow, and shallow, and the sand was then sprayed by the dredging ships, which were guided by GPS, onto the required area in a process known as rainbowing. On the outside of the outer ring of the island there is a huge breakwater constructed of carefully placed rocks that were collected by blasting.

Dutch scientists were called in, because of their experience of changing the land of their own nation, to study the area and perfect the plans to make sure the island would remain intact over time and through storms, and function correctly. However, the owners refused to wait until they had completed their investigation, and ordered construction to commence immediately. After the island had been constructed, the Dutch scientists discovered that the tide could not reach all around the palm and if left, the water would stagnate at the top of the palm, and it would become a haven for algae and mosquitos. The owners saw this as unacceptable and ordered action to be taken immediately. The scientists then came up with the current design, which has two channels through the outer ring, each about a quarter of the way around from the nearest end. These channels allow the tide to come in through the sides as well, and this means that all of the water in the palm is replaced every two weeks.

Post construction problems

The shape of the palm, and the fact that the water cannot flow behind, so effectively it is a peninsula, is having unwanted effects on the tidal currents. The current takes the shortest route around the Palm, and therefore does not flow into the enclaves on either side of it; the water that does enter the enclaves is no longer pushed by the current and therefores loses its energy and deposits all of the objects it was carrying. This deposition is causing the build up of a spit on the south-west side of the Island, and as the water comes back down the north-east side, it then is forced to turn by the coast line. As the water turns, the coast acts as the outside river bank in a river's meander. The water on the outside of the turn is travelling much faster and erodes away at the coastline, These effects can already be seen, there is clearly a slight build up on one side of the palm and an indentation in the coast line on the other side, currently the owners are simply planning to shift the build up to the indentations every couple of years to counteract this effect.

The Palm, Jebel Ali

The Palm, Jebel Ali began construction in October 2002 and is expected to be completed in late 2007. It is intended to be a tranquil place of rest, once both have been completed it will be encircled by the Dubai Waterfront project, which is a series of islands which make up a curve of diminishing width which reaches around The Palm, Jebel Ali. It includes boardwalks that circle the 'fronds' of the 'palm' and spell out an Arabic poem by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum:

Take wisdom from the wise

It takes a man of vision to write on water

Not everyone who rides a horse is a jockey

Great men rise to greater challenges

The Palm, Deira

The Palm, Deira began construction in November 2004, but is expected to be delayed by five years due to problems in construction. The Deira Palm will be the largest of the three Palms.

External links

Dubai: The Palm Islands - From United Arab Emirates News
Palms Islands Real Estate
Van Oord Dredging
The Palm
The Palm Islands - The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali, The Palm Deira
Nakheel

Projects by Al Nakheel | Resorts | Artificial islands | Buildings and structures in Dubai