Palm Islands - Palm Jumeirah

Palm Jumeirah

The Palm Jumeirah ( Coordinates: ) 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 will add 78 kilometers to the Dubai coastline. Over the next three to four years, the first phase of development on the Palm Jumeirah will create 4,000 residences included in a combination of villas and apartments.

According to project developer, Nakheel Properties, residents began moving into their Palm Jumeirah properties at the end of 2006, five years after land reclamation began. This signaled the end of phase one of construction, which included approximately 1,400 villas on 11 of the fronds of the island and roughly 2,500 shoreline apartments in 20 buildings on the east side of the trunk.

In accordance to a deal made with Airship Management Services Inc., Nakheel Properties will mark the arrival of the first residents by bringing one of the world's largest airships, a 60 meter long, 7,100 cubic meter Skyship 600 dirigible to Dubai.

According to officials at Nakheel Properties, the process of adding 78 kilometers of beach is under way. Eight of the 32 hotels on the Palm Jumeirah have begun construction, including the Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, which was planned for completion in late 2008 or early 2009. Construction is now delayed and the beaches are expected to open in early 2010. The first phase of Atlantis, The Palm Resort, is scheduled to be completed by December 2008. Atlantis, the Palm opened on September 24, 2008.

The "Golden Mile," the strip of land located along the center of the trunk overlooking the canal, is set for completion in the first quarter of 2008. The tenants started moving in on April 30, 2009. Construction has also begun on the Palm Jumeirah Monorail, which will take three years to complete and will serve as a transit system between the Gateway Station at the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah and the Atlantis Station on the crescent. (Emirates News Agency, WAM). The Monorail opened on May 6, 2009, but only utilized the Atlantis Hotel and Gateway Towers Stations.