Palm Islands

Palm Islands

   Palm Islands

            ·         PALM ISLAND IS A ARTIFICIAL ISLAND IN DUBAI,UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.

            ·         SITUATED IN PERSIAN GULF.

            ·         IT IS MADE OUT OF SANDS AND ROCKS

Construction

·        The Palm Islands are artificial islands constructed from sand dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf by the Belgian company, Jan De Nul and the Dutch company, Van Oord.

·        The sand is sprayed from the dredging ships, which are guided by a Global Positioning System, on to the required area.

·        The process is known as rainbowing because of the rainbow-like arcs produced in the air when the sand is sprayed. The outer edge of each palm's encircling crescent is a large rock breakwater. 

Palm Jumeirah

·        The Palm Jumeirah ( Coordinates: 25°06′28″N 55°08′15″E ) consists of a tree trunk, a crown with 16 fronds, and a surrounding crescent island that forms an 11 kilometer-long breakwater.

·        The island itself is five kilometers by five kilometers. It adds 78 kilometers to the Dubai coastline.

·        Residents began moving into Palm Jumeirah properties at the end of 2006, five years after land reclamation began.

·      A Monorail opened in 2009, but is not connected to other public transport.

Palm Jebel Ali

·        The Palm Jebel Ali began construction in October 2002 and was expected to be completed in mid-2008.

Structural importance

·        The Palm Island is made out of only sand and rocks (no use of concrete was used to build the island).

^·         This was done according to the order of the Prince of Dubai to make it very natural. The Project idea was conceived by the Prince himself and he was the one who came up with the design for the island.

·        The primary objective of construction of the Palm Islands was to increase tourism in Dubai.

·        This importance to tourism was given as the oil reserves in the gulf were getting depleted and hence the Prince of Dubai decided to make tourism a major revenue source for the country.

·        The Palm island consisted of resorts, hotels and was a major holiday destination.

Key people involved in the construction process

·         Robert Berger (Project manager : 2000–2004)

·         Mounir hevar (Chief of planning

·         Scott Hutchinson (Apartment Construction engineer from Turner Construction International).

Construction resources involved

·         5.5 million cubic metres of rock brought from over 16 quarries in Dubai.

·         94 million cubic metres of sand brought from deep sea beds 6 nautical miles from the coast of Dubai.

Main constraints

·         The 9/11 event in the year 2001 resulted in fewer tourists to Dubai, thus hitting hard on their economy. This slowed down the project by a large extent.

·         Another important constraint was the time given for the project was too short, just about 4 years.

·         To make the construction process on top of the island faster; 40,000 workers were hired working at 2 different shifts per day (Each shift was 12 hours).

Project risks and threats

·         waves 2 metres high

·         Storm frequency of 1 in 100 years

·         Earthquakes from 6 to 7 on the Richter scale. (Gulf area between Dubai and Iran is prone to earthquakes.)

·         Weak soil due to constant exposure to rising sea water.