Palm Jebel Ali artificial islands in Dubai rise from the sand after 20 years

Oct 30, 2023

A Google Map of Palm Jebel Ali islands. Work on Palm Jebel Ali was halted soon after Dubai's property market crashed in 2008. The project is being revived after a huge surge in Dubai property prices.

Palm Jebel Ali (نخلة جبل علي) an artificial archipelago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which began construction in October 2002 and which has been on hold since is supposed to be seeing some developments. You can see an updated satellite image that not much has happened and that there is a lot of sand sitting in the ocean waiting for villas, playgrounds, cafes and watersports.

The new master plan includes 80 hotels and resorts, and we hope they will follow the Estidama Pearl Rating System. The Pearl Rating System is a sustainable building code, like LEED, but which better suits the Middle East climate and culture. A project can receive One Pearl to Five Pearls depending on the total point-score a building project achieves. The scoring also gives a good overview of areas where improvements are needed and encourages sustainable management and operations.

The new master plan for the Palm Jebel Ali has been approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. The project, which is part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, is said to be one of a series of visionary projects being undertaken by master developer Nakheel. Investors from the 2002 days up until the market crash in 2008 are reported to be in limbo.

Palm Jumeira are artificial islands that include housing, hotels, spas and restaurants. Via Google Maps

The new masterplan for the Palm Jebel Ali includes a number of new features, including a nature-inspired waterfront promenade, some fitness centers, various swimming pools, children's play areas, indoor gardens, as well as leisure facilities within each residential building.

Palm Jebel Island model viewed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

The project is expected to be completed in 2027 and hopes to attract a wide range of residents, including families, professionals, and retirees. It is also expected to boost the local economy and create jobs. Some residents of the Palm Jumeira Islands report fetid water smells from lack of circulation around their private moat like island complex and wonder how these issues will be managed in the new iteration of the same concept.

A Google Map overview of the 3 main artificial islands projects in Dubai

In 2009 The Globe and Mail in Canada reported that "down by the docks, a noxious tide of toilet paper, raw sewage and chemical waste has turned the exclusive Jumeirah Beach – once a magnet for Westerners – into foul-smelling sludge. The pollution is bad enough to trigger typhoid and hepatitis in swimmers."

We reported more problems with algae buildup back in 2010.

In 2018 thousands of dead fished washed ashore along with a strange foam. Artificial islands like the ones being built in Dubai are indeed playgrounds of the wealthy as the gates and moats offer seclusion and security from riffraff. But these hugely expensive projects have a negative impact on the planet: dredging destroys marine life, and natural erosion patterns of beaches and sand. A concrete base for the beaches is a tragedy.

"They usually say they are preserving nature," says author Alastair Bonnett, a professor of social geography at University of Newcastle who has written a book on islands. He said in a National Geographic interview: "They plant trees and plant coral. But there's a greenwash going on. It's one of the paradoxes of the industrial world that we destroy nature and then we want it back. We are hungry for the very thing we’ve ruined. It's like killing the thing you love and then bringing back its ghost."

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum described in a tweet how this new destination comes as part of an ambitious plan to make the emirate "the most beautiful city in the world".

"We announced our goal to double Dubai's economy by 2033 and every day we add a new brick in building the most beautiful city in the world," he said.

Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, has a patent in IoT tech, and founded world-changing products to make agriculture sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]

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