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Dubai launches giant
palm tree resort island
Dubai
has unveiled plans for
a palm tree-shaped resort
island on land reclaimed
from the sea that will
add 120 kilometres of
sandy beaches and be
visible from the moon.
"Palm
Island" will include
2,000 villas, up to
40 luxury hotels, shopping
complexes, cinemas and
the Middle East's first
marine park, said Sultan
bin Sulayem, chairman
of Dubai Palm Developers.
The
island will be built
in the shape of 17 huge
fronds surrounded by
12 kilometres (7.5 miles)
of protective barrier
reefs, extending five
kilometres (three miles)
into the sea south of
Dubai city.
"The
project has taken four
years of methodical
planning and exhaustive
feasibility studies
to ensure that the islands
can be built without
disrupting the environment,"
Sulayem said.
They
will be accessible by
300-metre (990-feet)
bridges from the mainland
or boat to two marinas,
while the main causeway
will also have a monorail
system.
The
project will be built
on 80 million cubic
metres (2.8 billion
cubic feet) of land
dredged from the approach
channel to the emirate's
Jebel Ali port, an operation
that will deepen the
channel to 17 metres
(56 feet).
Khalid
bin Sulayem, head of
Dubai's tourism board,
said the project would
elevate Dubai "from
regional players to
leaders in tourism development
who focus on modernising
and expanding tourism
infrastructure to attract
more tourists."
Property
on the islands, expected
to take up to four years
to complete, will be
for sale to foreigners
as well as Emiratis.
Sulayem did not put
on a figure on the project
cost.
A
consultant with Palm
Developers told AFP
at Dubai's Arabian Travel
Market that the contract
for the project was
expected to be awarded
next week and construction
take up to five years.
With its oil resources
running out, Dubai,
part of the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), has
launched a multi-billion
dollar tourism drive
in an effort to establish
itself as the Gulf's
leisure hub.
The
local Abdullah al-Futtaim
Group last month launched
Dubai Festival City,
a project to develop
a four-kilometre-long
(2.5-mile-long) stretch
of the emirate's southern
creekside at a cost
of 1.6 billion dollars.
And a 10-billion dollar
project to build a new
city called Dubai Marina
is already well underway.
It is to house 100,000
people around a huge
water basin within a
decade. |
