Gulf Construction Online - Dubai's The World set to take shape

UAE Focus

Artist's impression of The World project.

Dubai's The World set to take shape

01 October 2003

General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister unveiled the first 3D model of The World project, last month.

Positioned to be Dubai's most exclusive property development yet, The World project, consisting of 250 islands strategically positioned to replicate the world map, will be located 4 km offshore from Dubai - halfway between The Palm, Jumeirah and Port Rashid. According to the Dubai-based developers Nakheel, construction of The World officially commenced in August.

'This project is part of the strategy and vision for the future of Dubai in the coming years. It is also in line with the emirate's continued efforts to boost the tourism sector, as part of its policy to diversify sources of income away from oil,' said Sheikh Mohammed.

'This is the first time in the world that an island project of this size and magnitude has been undertaken and I expect it will be a strongly sought-after investment,' he said.
The construction of the islands is expected to take two years to complete after which Nakheel will hand over the land to investors for developing the islands to suit their tastes.

Nakheel says each island will range from 250,000 to 900,000 sq ft separated by 50 to 100 m of water. In total, the development will cover an area 9 km in length and 6 km in width and will be surrounded by an oval-shaped breakwater and access to the development will be by marine transport only.

Van Oord ACZ, a Dutch dredging and marine company, which was also the main contractor for The Palm and the Jumeirah, has bagged the contract to construct 'The World'.

'We are delighted to win the contract for The World project, which will be the biggest project we have undertaken in the region', said Koos Van Oord, chief executive officer of Van Oord ACZ.

'This project will be more complicated than The Palm, Jumeirah due to its shape and the number of curves it has. However, we will utilise our very reliable digital geographical position systems (DGPS) to create the exact shapes.'

The depth of the seabed at the location of 'The World' varies between 11-16 m and once complete the development will comprise of 25 million tonnes of rock and 200 million cu m of sand.