Joanna James
Tipped to be one of the most impressive manmade islands on the planet, the Palm Jumeirah is a record breaker in every sense of the term. Here are 7 interesting facts regarding this fascinating island.
One of the most impressive aspects regarding the construction of the Palm Jumeirah is the level of preparation that went into the project before a single drop of sand was moved to create the island. The sea bed and the rock surfaces deep underneath the ocean were explored by seasoned divers to determine if the area was strong enough or even capable of encompassing a project of this scale. This is not the only research initiative that preceded the design of the island as a project of this nature requires a great deal of preparatory research.
As expected, the construction of the Palm Jumeirah ranks among the world's costliest endeavours. The reported cost of creating the island now stands at a whopping USD 12 billion which is a staggering amount considering the size of the island as well as the six years it took to complete the project.
While it may not look so expansive from the outset, the Palm Jumeirah is spread out over a total area of 5.72 square kilometres. This is equal to the space that can accommodate an awe-inspiring six hundred standard size football pitches. And what's even more surprising is that the world's biggest football stadium, London's Wembley took more than 4 years to reach completion while the Palm Jumeirah only took 6 years to construct.
It may be hard to believe but not a single ounce of steel was used in the construction of the Palm Jumeirah Island in Dubai. In an era where steel is a part of nearly every building project, the Palm Jumeirah remains an anomaly. Concrete was also not used in the creation of the island as it is completely made up of sand that was transported from the sea bed. A staggering 94 million cubic metres of it, in fact. Seven million tons of rocks were also brought in from the Hajar Mountains to create the base of the island.
Although travel magazines and brochures and nearly every news article written about the Palm Jumeirah since its construction refers to it as an "island" it is technically not. An island by definition is a mass of land that's surrounded by water and detached from any other land or mainland. The Palm Jumeirah, however, is connected to mainland Dubai by a bridge which extends across 1.4km and those based at Oaks Liwa Heights and similar hotels will need to cross this bridge to reach the island.
Travellers who are in the country due to the best hotel deals in Dubai and other travel packages can also venture down to the island via the monorail which connects the Dubai coastline with the Palm Jumeirah. Transporting about twenty thousand visitors daily, it is not the only means of reaching the island from mainland Dubai as the Palm Jumeirah tunnel also offers a 6-lane underground bridge.
The total amount of rock and sand used to build the Palm Jumeirah Island is enough to build a 2m tall wall around the world, three times over.
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