Palm Jumeirah
25°6′52.8″N 55°8′16.07″E / 25.114667°N 55.1377972°E
The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial archipelago created using land reclamation by Nakheel, a company owned by the Dubai government in United Arab Emirates and was designed and developed by HHCP architects. It is one of three islands called the Palm Islands (Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira) which extend into the Persian Gulf, increasing Dubai’s shoreline by a total of 520 kilometres (320 mi). The Palm Jumeirah is the smallest and the original of three Palm Islands under development by Nakheel. It is located on the Jumeirah coastal area of the emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Transportation
The 5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi) Palm Jumeirah Monorail, connecting the Atlantis Hotel to the Gateway Towers at the foot of the island, opened on May 6, 2009.[1]
Construction
Construction began with the Palm Jumeirah island in June 2001 and the developers announced handover of the first residential units in 2006.[2] The island has been created using 94,000,000 cubic metres (3.3×109 cu ft) of sand and 7 million tons of rock. 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 a curved breakwater using natural rock, intended 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. Total cost reached US$12.3 billion and maintaining the island is a costly expenditure.[citation needed] Approximately 40,000 workers, mostly from South Asia, have been involved in the construction of the island.[citation needed]
In early October 2007, the Palm Jumeirah had already become the world's largest artificial island.[3] Also at this time, 75% of the properties were ready to hand over, with 500 families already residing on the island.[3] By the end of 2009, 28 hotels were opened on the Crescent.[3]
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[needs update] 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 (comprising 2000 vil chased early in the expectation of greater separation between properties.[4] This increase was attributed to Nakheel miscalculating the actual cost of construction and requiring the raising of additional capital, although Nakheel has never commented publicly on the matter.[citation needed]
The outer break water has been designed as a continuous barrier, but it was realized that by preventing natural tidal movement, the seawater within the Palm was becoming stagnant. The problem was corrected by adding an additional gap in the barrier.[5] 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.[5][6] This same episode addressed the issue of marine life as well, but stated that the breakwater has actually encouraged marine life and that new marine species are moving into the area.
In a 2009 article describing the collapsing Dubai economy, The New York Times reported that the Palm was sinking and this has been confirmed now by geological surveys, at the moment it is 5 millimetres (0.20 in) per year but this could increase rapidly. Furthermore there are many reported cases where people had bought houses before they were built and are furious about the space available now and the way they seem to be living on top of each other.[7] Nakheel refuted the claims by the New York Times who had quoted one small ground survey firm that the island was sinking. They defended the single claim by saying that there had been no reports of any structural problems on any of the buildings on the island which would be expected if there were any subsidence. Nakheel also outlined that claims suggesting Palm Jumeirah has sunk by 5mm, as detected by remote sensing (satellite) techniques, are not possible given that NASA’s laser altimeter satellites have an accuracy of only + or – 50 millimetres (2.0 in).[8] there a toilet too
Gallery
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Atlantis The Palm on Oct 21 2009, The Lost Chambers aquarium -
Atlantis The Palm on Nov 20, 2009, Sea view from the Palm crescent, in front of Atlantis -
Villas on a frond -
Palm Jumeirah's Fronds -
Palm Jumeirah aerial view on 1 May 2007 -
Palm Jumeirah aerial view on 1 May 2007
See also
- Palm Islands
- The World
- The Universe
- Tourism in Dubai
- Palm Grandeur
- Jumeirah Islands
- The Taj Exotica Hotel & Resort
- Longshore drift
References
- ^ Nice and Easy, but Fares Not So Fair
- ^ "The Palm Jumeirah". Nakheel. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ a b c "Dubai's Palm and World Islands - progress update". AMEInfo. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
- ^ ""Palm before a storm?" Daily Telegraph article by Catherine Moye, 20th August 2005". The Daily Telegraph. London. 20 August 2005. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Palm Island Dubai FAQ".
- ^ "MegaStructures - National Geographic Channel episode guide".
- ^ Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down, New York Times, February 11, 2009
- ^ http://www.arabianbusiness.com/575669-nakheel-palm-jumeirah-not-sinking