Playing in Dubai:
The Palms Dubai and The World Dubai
The Palms Dubai, are the world’s three largest man-made islands and due to their immense scale and unique shapes, are visible from space with the naked eye. They are the answer to the requirement of increasing Dubai’s coastline in a way that also enhances its reputation as a ‘one of a kind’ holiday destination.
Between the three islands, there are plans for over 100 luxury hotels, thousands of exclusive residential beachside villas and shoreline apartments, together with marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas and cinemas.
The creation and development of ‘The Palms Dubai’ is a unique feat of design and modern engineering, taking Dubai property investment to another level and although the self-declared ’eighth wonder of the world’, there can be no denying that it is one of the most unique and intriguing residential projects on earth.
The first of the islands, the Palm Jumeirah covers an area of 7 million square meters and extends over 6 kilometres into the Arabian Gulf. The island consists of a ’tree trunk’, a tree crown with 17 fronds all surrounded by a 12 kilometre-long breakwater in the shape of a crescent, adding some 220 kilometres of beach to the coastline of the UAE. There is also a dedicated Palm Monorail operating as an integrated internal transit system.
The Palm Jebel Ali began construction in 2002 and is expected to accommodate approximately 1.7 million people by 2020. Upon completion, it will be encircled by Dubai Waterfront and is about half as large again than the Palm Jumeirah. Palm Jebel Ali will feature marinas, a water theme park, boardwalks that circle the fronds of the palm and residential homes on stilts above the water forming the “Sea Village” - a truly unique development. It is anticipated that by 2012, the first of four theme parks - being called the "World of Discovery" - will be open on the Crescent. The parks include Aquatica, Sea World, Discovery Cove and Busch Gardens.
The Palm Deira was announced in 2004, and when completed - around 2015 - will be the largest man-made island in the world and housing more than one million people. To give an idea of scale, the island will be eight times larger than Palm Jumeirah and five times larger than Palm Jebel Ali!
The entire ’island project’ is envisaged to take 15 years to complete, having begun in 2001.
The World Dubai - The latest and perhaps most famous Dubai island project sees a development shaped like the continents of the world. The World will consist of approximately 300 private artificial islands each separated by upto 100 metres of water and consisting of either - resorts, private homes, estate homes and community islands. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by boat.
The World Dubai is located 4 kilometers off the shore of Jumeirah, close to the The Palm Jumeirah and the Burj Al Arab (in fact it’s something to look out for if you get the chance to visit the Burj Al Arab’s top level restaurant). There are more than 40 luxury resorts expected to open in 2010, providing a varied range of restaurants, amenities and entertainment to choose from.
Upon purchase, private developers can add beaches, marinas, coves, harbours and other features to create their own completely unique design. Once completed, the World Islands will be seen as yet another emerging hub in Dubai where dining, shopping and a wealth of new attractions will entice visitors to spend their vacations in what is seen as the most unusual and exciting area of the UAE.
