Location U.A.E Length 9 km (5.6 mi) Official website www.nakheel.com | Archipelago The World Width 6 km (3.7 mi) | |
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The World or The World Islands (Arabic: جزر العالم; Juzur al-Ālam) is an artificial archipelago of various small islands constructed in the rough shape of a world map, located in the waters of the Persian Gulf, 4.0 kilometres (2.5 mi) off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The World islands are composed mainly of sand dredged from Dubai's shallow coastal waters, and are one of several artificial island developments in Dubai. The World's developer is Nakheel Properties, and the project was originally conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
Contents
- Map of The World Islands Dubai United Arab Emirates
- Project
- History
- Project difficulties
- Purchase and development plans
- Timeline of construction
- References
Map of The World Islands - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Construction of the 300 islands began in 2003, only to halt due to the 2008 financial crisis. Though 60 percent of the islands had been sold off to private contractors back in 2008, development on most of these islands has failed to initiate. As of late 2013, only two of the islands had been developed. In January, 2014, Kleindienst Group announced the launch of "The Heart of Europe" project; by February, 2014, one of Kleindienst Group's brands - JK Properties' announced in their monthly newsletter that the project was "well underway". The first of these series of islands will be Europe, Sweden and Germany with development led by Kleindienst Group, the Developer for The Heart of Europe project. The floating Sea horse villas at St. Petersburg Island are scheduled to be delivered in Dec 2016 and the booking starts at 20%.
As of July 2012, the Lebanon Island was developed and was 'the only island that has so far been developed commercially, is used for private corporate events and public parties.
Project
Islands in the project range from 14,000 to 42,000 square metres (150,000 to 450,000 sq ft) in area. Distances between islands average 100 metres (330 ft); they are constructed from 321,000,000 cubic metres (1.13×1010 cu ft) of sand and 386 million tons of rock. Designed by Creative Kingdom Dubai, the development is an area that covers 6 by 9 kilometres (3.7 by 5.6 mi) and is surrounded by an oval-shaped breakwater island. Roughly 232 km (144 mi) of shoreline was created. The World's overall development costs were estimated at $14 billion USD in 2005.
History
The project was unveiled in May 2003 by Sheikh Mohammed and dredging began four months later in September 2003. By January 2008, 60% of the islands were sold, 20 of which were bought in the first four months of 2007. On 10 January 2008 the final stone on the breakwater was laid, completing development of the archipelago. As of July 2012, a second island, the Lebanon Island was developed and was 'the only island that has so far been developed commercially, is used for private corporate events and public parties.'
Project difficulties
The Times Online reported in September 2009 that work on The World had been suspended due to the effects of the global financial crisis. And in February 2010 the Daily Mail reported that the islands had started sinking back into the sea. This was later denied by Nakheel and independent technical reports as wholly inaccurate. Despite the denial, The Daily Telegraph reported in January 2011 that an independent company, Penguin Marine, provided verification on the erosion of the islands and the silting of the passageways between the islands. Due to finance and technical problems, Penguin Marine, the company contracted to provide transportation to the archipelago, is attempting to get out of the annual fees of $1.6 million paid to Nakheel properties.
As of early 2011, only one of the islands had been occupied by a building (a show home) on it, and commercial or residential properties were not currently being constructed on any of the other islands. Property prices in the Emirates had fallen 58 percent from their peak in the fourth quarter of 2008. The world economic recovery from the Great Recession has resulted in a rebound for the Dubai real estate market: it has been reported that "residential prices [in Dubai] rose by 17.9% from August 2012 to 2013, while rents soared by 14.9% in the same period."
Irish investor/businessman John O'Dolan, who purchased the "Ireland" island, committed suicide in February 2009, after his consortium fell into financial difficulty.
Purchase and development plans
The World was supposed to be serviced by four major transportation hubs linked by waterways. Land parcels are supposedly zoned for various uses: estate, mid density, high density, resorts and commercial. A Dubai Infinity Holdings construction planner has stated that developers have been negotiating with Nakheel about temporary siting of a cement batching plant on one of the islands to supply subdivided construction.
The plan was for utilities to be routed under water, with water plants at each of the hubs pumping fresh water to the islands. Power was to be supplied by the Dubai Grid and distributed through underwater cables, however as of February 2015 no cables had been laid, so that developers currently have to provide their own power from diesel generators. Waste water and refuse systems are an individual concern for each island.
Nakheel Group is itself further developing a resort named Coral Island over 20 islands that make up the North American part of The World. The low-rise development will include a marina and hotel village. The second largest confirmed development is the purchase of 14 islands that make up Australia and New Zealand by Investment Dar of Kuwait. The islands are being terraformed to be developed as a resort named OQYANA.
Irish business consortium Larionovo had plans to develop the Ireland island into an Irish-themed resort. The plans include a large internal marina, apartments and villas, a gym, hotel, and an Irish-themed pub. In July 2007 it was announced that the Ireland Island would feature a recreation of Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway. However, on 25 November 2008 a provisional liquidator was appointed to Larionovo. The islands of Great Britain and Moscow on The World were acquired by Premier Real Estate Bureau in the Summer of 2008. News was leaked in a Daily Mail article of January 2009, refuting claims that Great Britain was owned by Richard Branson, Rod Stewart or John O'Dolan.
In April 2008, Salya Corporation announced that it had acquired the islands of Finland and Brunei in The World and planned to develop them into fashion-themed resorts. Salya spent about Dh800 million ($218 million USD) to purchase the islands and plans to spend a further Dh2.4 billion ($654 million USD) on development. Brunei Island will be turned into a Fashion TV resort and Finland Island will be turned into a fashion community called FTV palace.
Safi Qurashi, the seven-time multi-millionaire entrepreneur at the head of Premier, and his business partner Mustafa Nagri, paid an estimated $64 million USD for the 4.5-hectare (11-acre) piece of land; he was later convicted for non-payment of cheques and sentenced to seven years in jail.
Josef Kleindienst and his firm JK Properties are developing The Heart of Europe, a collection of six islands (Germany, Sweden, St. Petersburg, Main Europe, Switzerland and Monaco) in the European section of the World, into an island luxury resort. The resort is meant to create a fully immersive European experience, with outdoor snow, and stores accepting only the EURO as a currency.