I always thought that the Wall of China was the only man-made architect visible from space. Well not anymore! The Palm Islands project in Dubai, United Arab Emirates will be the world’s largest man-made islands. This project consist of the trilogy of three islands called The Palm Islands which will increase Dubai’s shoreline by a total of 520 kilometres. The first island is Palm Jumeirah, which is the smallest of the three and has been completed. The other two, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, are not yet completed. These islands are primarily retreats and residential areas for living, relaxation and leisure. There will also be villas, shoreline apartment buildings, beaches, marinas, restaurants, cafes and a variety of retail outlets.

Plam Jumeirah is 5 kilometres by 5 kilometres and its total area is larger than 800 football pitches. The construction of the islands began in June 2001 and the developers announced handover of the first residential units in 2006. The Plam Jumeirah has been constructed using 94 million cubic metres of sand and 7 million tons of rocks. The total cost of the construction reached US$12.3 billion and maintaining the island is a costly expenditure. Approximately 40,000 workers, mostly from South Asia, have been involved in the construction of the islands. Over 500 families already residing on the island at this time. By the end of 2009, 28 hotels will be opened on the Crescent.

As for Palm Jebel Ali, construction has began in October 2002 and should be completed by now (was planned to complete in mid 2008). Once completed, Palm Jebel Ali will be 50 percent bigger than Jumeirah Palm and is expected to accommodate approx. 1.7 million people by 2020. The development for Palm Deira started in October 2004 and upon completion (sometime in 2015) it will house more than a million people. This island will be 8 times larger than Jumeirah Palm and 5 times larger than Palm Jebel Ali. Yes, they are VERY rich!

My gosh… it’s really a paradise to have a ocean view on each house. Now that’s what I call a home, but I wonder if the pool is necessary?

P.S. And that is not all! There is another mega project currently in development called the ‘World Islands’ which consist of private artificial islands forming a shape our earth. Amazing!