3. Palm Islands
Palm islands consist of three artificial islands –
Palm Jumeirah (completed)
Palm Jebel Ali (under construction)
Palm Deira (proposed)
4. About Palm Jumeirah
Palm Jumeirah is located on the
coast of Dubai, United Arab
Emirates.
It is developed from the theme of
Dubai’s national tree Palm.
It consists of a tree trunk, a crown
with 16 fronds, and a surrounding
crescent island that forms an
11 kilometer-long breakwater.
5. CONSTRUCTION
Construction on the palm islands
began in June 2001.
Sand dredged from the bottom of
the Persian Gulf by the Belgian
company Jan De Nul and the
Dutch company Van Oord.
Divers surveyed the seabed and
workers constructed a crescent-
shaped breakwater from blasted
mountain rock.
The sand is sprayed from dredging
ships, guided by a (DGPS) to plot
the palm and ensure the sand
placement within 0.39 of an inch.
Sand dredged from the bottom of
the Persian Gulf
Using DGPS
6. CONSTRUCTION
The spraying process is known
as rainbowing.
3.25 billion cubic feet of ocean sand vibro-
compacted into place.
The Crescent of Palm Jumeirah stands a little
more than 13 feet above low tide sea level.
Sand, covered by an erosion-preventing
water-permeable geo-textile.
One-ton rocks cover the sand, and two
layers of large rocks weighing up to six tons
each cap the structure.
The breakwater also has two 328-feet
openings on each side to eliminate stagnation
in the 16 narrow deep channels.
Rainbowing.
Using rocks
7. Construction resources involved
5.5 million cubic meters of
rock brought from over 16
quarries in Dubai.
210 million cubic metres of
rock,sand and limestone.
94 million cubic meters
of sand brought from
deep sea beds 6 nautical
miles from the coast of
Dubai.
Use of rock
Use of sand
8. Area covered by Palm Jumeirah
The island itself is 5.72 km².
It adds a total of
520 kilometers of non-
public beaches to the city of
Dubai.
It adds 78 kilometers to the
Dubai coastline.
The island costs an
estimated $12bn to build.
9. Structural importance
Palm Jumeirah was
built entirely from
sand and rocks which
is a wonder of
modern engineering.
Recover the revenue
of oil and make a
tourist attraction.
10. Residential units & Hotels
The developers handover
the first residential units in
2006.
In October 2007, the Palm
Jumeirah had already
become the world's largest
artificial island.
By the end of 2009, 28
hotels were opened on the
Crescent.
Residential units
Hotel Atlantis
11. Project risks and threats
Waves 2 meters high.
Storm frequency of 1
in 1 year.
Earthquakes from 6
to 7 on the Richter
scale.
Weak soil
Water pollution.
12. Hidden problems
Erosion(caused
by winds and
water currents).
Damage to the
marine ecology
(the loss of reefs
and fish)
Loss of coastal
shape along the
seashore of Dubai.
Erosion
Damage to the marine ecology
13. Obstacles after the island construction
Installation of utilities and pipelines were very difficult and
laborious.
14. Risk Mitigation
Wave blockers.
Dredging (the sand from the
dredging ships was sprayed on
to the land).
GPS.
Monitored and checked the
proper alignment and placement
of rocks to maintain the
construction.
Anti Liquefaction process
(Vibro-compaction technique)
Wave blockers
Dredging
15. Environmental concerns
Changes to area wildlife, coastal erosion,
alongshore sediment transport and wave
patterns.
Suffocated and injured local marine fauna
and reduced the amount of sunlight which
filters down to seashore vegetation.
Change in erosion patterns along the UAE
coast.
For these reasons, Greenpeace
and Mongabay has criticized the Palm
Islands for lack of sustainability.
16. References
"The Palm Jebel Ali (Palm Islands, Dubai) - Property
Development“.
"Dubai's Palm and World Islands - progress update".
"Environmental Impacts of Palm Islands".
Dubai's Artificial World Islands Are Killing Corals and Pushing
Nature Out of the Sea".
Dubai's artificial islands have high environmental
cost“, Mongabay.com
"YouTube - The Palm Island, Dubai UAE - Mega structure
Development". youtube.com.
"Construction of the Islands - The Impact of the Palm Islands,
United Arab Emirates". google.com.
How Stuff Works "Palm Island Construction".
