Out of all the great construction feats that Fairport have written about, this has surly got to be the most unique one (if you disagree post a comment below). The palm islands are a feat like no other, creating land mass out at sea on such a scale, which must have been a monstrous task. There are now several islands in a cluster next to each other on the Jumeirah coastal area of the emirate of Dubai that are dubbed the palm islands. The one that we are going to focus on in this blog is the first one; The Palm Jumeirah. Although it is the smallest of the bunch this was the first that green lighted all the other islands to be constructed after it.
The original palm island (Palm Jumeirah) is 3.4 miles long from the peak to the entrance gate. This is especially impressive considering that the construction began all the way back in 2001, this means the plan and designs must have been decided years before that.
This is such a great feat by the construction industry, because the palm islands had so many risks and obstacles to overcome from the word go. The first challenge was to construct such a formidable structure that could withstand the tides and corrosion of the sea, using only sand and rocks (no steel, concrete etc.).
Some of the many challenges the teams faced and had to consider during planning and construction included; how well was the structure going to hold up against harsh weather? e.g. storms and monsoons. These are not common in Dubai but they are also not unheard of so they must have been considered. Other risks would be the rising sea level from global warming, as corrosion of the base would make the island collapse and obviously, ocean currents sweeping away sand and rocks at the base of the structure which again would make the palm island collapse.
During the construction process the first step was to construct a solid base, made of compact sand and rocks to about 3 metres above sea level. These were called breakwaters and three were constructed to make the solid base required. They were 7 metres thick and 5.5 million cubic metres of rock was used, this would have been enough to construct two Egyptian pyramids. Break waters are costal defences and were crucial in the survival of The Palm Island, the breakwaters surround the island and make the current flow around over it instead of into it. This greatly reduces the likelihood of corrosion from sea currents and large ocean waves.
In 2002, a storm hit the island during construction and a section of break water is cast off in the sea, this halted construction for three weeks. The palm island was supposed to be constructed by 2006 but this was an unrealistic deadline, the base and island would need to be constructed at the same time which is not ideal or realistic with a project with so many risks like this one.
For the palm island to be built to its specific design the construction teams used Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPS). This was one of the most advanced positioning systems in the world at the time, it took Dubai to have a privately-owned satellite dedicated to the positioning of the strategic points of the mega structure. This technology also allowed the construction team to perfectly plot the sand placement for the island itself.
The sand island must support an entire city on it but sand is not an easy platform to build on. The solution was to use enormous vibrators to make the land firm. This took eight months for the land to stabilise and in March 2004 the palm Jumeirah was ready as a building site.
By October 2007, 75% of the properties constructed were ready to hand over to their owners. The most expensive property on the palm island was sold for £1.2 million. By 2009 the final hotels were constructed and opened which led to the palm island being filled.
This colossal feat had so many variables to consider, and was a risky task to undertake but with the construction of the Palm Jumeirah, it allowed other similar feats to be attempted because this showed the world that such a task can be undertaken. If you take all of this into consideration and add the estimated £10 Billion cost of construction this was a huge risk to take. It seems to have paid off as the mega structure still stands to this very day and has over 120,000 residents and workers with an extra 20,000 tourists visiting every day. I think the moral of this story is to never underestimate the capabilities of what the construction industry can achieve.
What do you think of the construction of The Palm Islands? Have you visited? Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
