Juliana Roberts
Dubai's bold action of creating man-made islands certainly made their mark on the world. Here are the lavish, expensive and completely man-made islands that you have to see at least once.
The Palm Jebel Ali is a man-made or artificial archipelago located in Dubai. Construction on this began in 2002. The Palm Jebel Ali is also 50 percent larger than Palm Jumeirah its predecessor. The initial proposal was set for the inclusion of six marinas, a sea village, water theme park, houses built on stilts above water and boardwalks. These boardwalks would eventually be created to spell out a poem penned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum. Upon completion, the archipelago will be able to accommodate 250,000 individuals. The original schedule for the project stated that by the year 2021, the initial stage of the 4 theme parks would be opened to the public. These parks include the Sea World, Discovery Cove, Aquatica Busch Gardens and The World of Discovery.
The Deira Islands is another man-made cluster of islands in Dubai. The megaproject was also initially considered to be a part of the Palm Islands project. The immense size of the planned island caused the project to go through various stages of development where it tried to compartmentalize each section and complete it. The first section to reach completion was the creation of Deira Island that is positioned adjacent to Deira Corniche and sits between the Dubai Creek and Al Hamriya Port. The final Deira Island will be expected to have an amphitheatre and 1400 retail shops and a hotel.
The palm Jumeirah is probably the most successful and well-known venture out of all the islands that Dubai set out to create. The artificial archipelago was created by Nakheel under the assistance of the Dubai government. The Palm Jumeirah forms a part of the Palm Islands concept which consists of 3 sectors; The Palm Jumeirah, Palm Deira, and Palm Jebel Ali, together which would have almost reached the Persian Gulf. Construction initiated in 2001 and the first residencies in the island were done by 2006. By the year 2007, the Jumeirah became the world's largest artificial island. 500 families were living on the island by the time while 28 hotels were opened to business in 2009. The Palm Jumeirah hotels which opened such as Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort and several others are known throughout the world for the luxurious settings in which they are located. To experience the ambiance of these islands is to gain an insight into the lavish and glamorous lifestyle of the Emirates.
The island cluster has been created by land reclamation methods to resemble roughly, the world map from which it derives its name. The ruler of Dubai together with the project developer is said to have initially conceived the concept for this man-made archipelago. The islands were to be sold off to the highest bidder who would then be able to say that they owned a country of the world. Lebanon is the one island that has been commercially developed completely and is also used for corporate events and public parties.
