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Guide to Dubai's Islands

Introduction

The Emirate of Dubai has been one of the biggest revelations of the overseas property world in the past few years – introducing the concepts of buying off-plan properties, buying for future developments in tourism, building on an unprecedented scale and, of course, what will soon be the world's tallest building when it is completed in 2009.

Among this plethora of superlatives and world firsts, possibly the most impressive engineering feats have been reserved for the creation of a set of new islands, reclaimed from the seas of the Arabian Gulf, specifically for the purposes of real estate development.

As the government of this tiny state continues to attract tourists and businesses alike, buyers have been snapping up plots and properties on these new pieces of land. Three Palm islands are sprouting up along the coast, along with The World – a giant map of the globe some 4km off the coast – and Dubai Waterfront.

The regions

Despite being one of the Gulf’s more oil-rich States, Dubai's ruling family decided some 50 years ago that they would seek to attract international businesses to the area to ensure the prosperity of the Emirate in the event of oil becoming less important in a global context. This decision seems to have paid off in spades, with Dubai becoming a world-leading tourism, business and trade hub.

The creation of Dubai's artificial islands has been a long process of dredging and dumping sand and rocks, but as the first residents begin to inhabit the Palm Jumeirah island in the latter stages of 2007, the first part of the most ambitious expansion programme in the history of the Middle East is coming to fruition. Although most of the islands that are due to be created in Dubai will rise a mere few metres above sea level, they will incorporate highways, water parks and hotel developments, as well as the thousands of villas that line the 'fronds' of the island. The relatively calm nature of the Arabian Sea means that the low-lying islands of Palm Jumeirah and it's sister Deira and Jebel Ali Palms are supposedly in no danger from the tides.

The World is a little different from the Palm islands, in that the individual islands that make up this huge map of the world are being sold – some to individuals, and some to developers. Investors therefore have the ability to buy a whole 'country' and take their place in the world.

The most recent project to be announced was the Dubai Waterfront development. This extension of the Jebel Ali part of Dubai will comprise a number of new islands laced with canals and leisure facilities, as well as the now-ubiquitous hotels and apartments.

Getting there

There are now daily direct flights to the huge hub of Dubai's international airport from the UK, which take around seven hours. The new Dubai World Central International Airport currently under construction will share the load of passengers arriving, departing and transferring through Dubai, and at roughly ten times the size of the current facility, it will certainly be an impressive sight when it is completed in 2017.

More pages

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Climate

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