Palm Jumeirah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Palm Jumeirah is the world's largest man-made island - a residential and tourism destination created by Nakheel, a key company in the transformation of Dubai from a sleepy fishing village into one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It is a part of the trilogy of three islands called The Palm Islands which will increase Dubai’s shoreline by a total of 520 kms.
Contents |
[edit] Description
The Palm Jumeirah is in the shape of a palm tree. It consists of a trunk, a crown with 17 fronds, and a surrounding crescent island that forms an 11 kilometre-long breakwater. The island is 5 kilometres by 5 kilometres and its total area is larger than 800 football pitches.[1] Land reclamation on this size and scale--not to mention in the complex shape of a palm tree--has never been accomplished before. The crown is connected to the mainland by a 300-metre bridge and the cresent is connected to the top of the palm by a subsea tunnel.[1] Over the next 2 to 3 years, as the tourism phases develop, The Palm Jumeirah is touted as soon to be one of the world’s premier resorts. Dubai is one of the richest cities in the world. It's GDP is highest in the world. Oil gave the economy a boost but now most money is coming from tourism. Cities majority population is made up of foreigners mostly American, British, Canadian and South Asians.
[edit] Construction
The island has been entirely created using natural material. 94 million cubic metres of sand and 7 million tons of rock have been used – the amount of material used would create a two and a half metre high wall that would circle the globe three times. The Palm Jumeirah was created by pouring sand fill onto the 10.5 metre-deep seabed using dredgers. Above sea level, 3 metres of the reclamation were achieved by a dredging technique known as "rainbowing," in which the sand fill was sprayed over the surface of the rising island. Calcareous sand was used for the reclamation. The island includes the first ever curved breakwater. Most breakwaters around the world are created using concrete slabs, but Nakheel used natural rock to encourage the creation of a natural reef and provide habitats for sea life. The land form was reclaimed by the Dutch company Van Oord, who are world experts in land reclamation. Although land reclamation is a widely used engineering technique, this is the first time such a complex shape has been created. Total cost reached $12.3 billion and maintaining the island is a costly expenditure.
[edit] Controversy
The complexities of the construction have been blamed, in part, for the extended delays to the completion of the project, the date of which has been pushed back multiple times and is now nearly two years late. Further controversy was engendered when it was revealed that after launching the project, Nakheel increased the number of residential units on the island (with a concomitant reduction in the amount of physical space between individual properties) from the originally-announced 4500 (comprised of 2000 villas and 2500 apartments) to an estimated 8000 without recompense to those investors who had purchased early in the expectation of greater separation between properties.[2] This increase was attributed to Nakheel miscalculating the actual cost of construction and requiring the raising of additional capital, although, as with any issue related to the Palm that is not wholly positive in tone, Nakheel itself has never commented publicly on the matter.[citation needed]
Doubts have also been expressed about the quality of the construction and finishing of the properties on the island (a problem common to Dubai as a whole rather than the Palm specifically) and the real ability of the infrastructure on both the Palm and the mainland to cope with the stresses of the sheer number of people leaving from and returning to the development every day once complete.[2]
Furthermore, there are numerous concerns about the environmental impact of the Palm. As originally constructed, the breakwater was a continuous barrier, but it was realised that by preventing natural tidal movement, the seawater within the Palm was becoming stagnant.[3] As explained in the National Geographic Channel's documentary Impossible Islands, part of its MegaStructures series, the breakwater was subsequently modified to create gaps on either side, allowing tidal movement to oxygenate the water within and prevent it stagnating, albeit less efficiently than would be the case if the breakwater did not exist.[3][4] Additionally, the dredging and undersea construction has been blamed for coastal erosion[3] and a decline in fish stocks in the Dubai area of the Persian Gulf, as well as for permanently altering the colour of the seawater from blue to green. It remains to be seen whether the creation of artificial habits for sealife will be successful.[citation needed]
[edit] Hotels
Over 30 beachfront hotels will be opened by the end of 2009,[1] with most of the world’s top brands represented including:
- The Trump International Hotel & Tower
- Atlantis, The Palm
- The Taj Exotica Hotel & Resort
- Grandeur Residences
- Tiara Residence
- Oceana Residence
- The Fairmont Palm Residence
- The Fairmont Palm Hotel & Resort
- The Dubai Estates Hotel & Park
[edit] Trivia
- 94 million cubic metres of sand and 7 million tons of rock have been used to create 78 kilometres of beaches; this will double the length of the Dubai coastline.
- 3 fighter jets have been stripped of environmentally harmful materials and sunk near The Palm Jumeirah to create an artificial reef, encouraging marine life.
- Approximately 40,000 workers have been involved in the construction of the island.
- An independent monorail is being built on the island which will be able to transport 2,000-3,000 people on and off the island every hour.[1]
- The water displacement of The Palm, if sudden, would be large enough to cause a tidal wave.
[edit] See Also
[edit] External links
- The Palm official website
- The Emirates Network: The Palm Jumeirah development profile
- Satellite View from Google Maps
