
I admit to blowing off
The World development project the first time that I heard about it. But after seeing this picture (right), I'm amazed. What a huge construction project!
Dubai's land-reclamation projects — the Palm Islands of Jumeira, Jebel Ali, and Deira and The World archipelago — will be the world's largest artificial island complexes, developed with villas, golf courses, and holiday resorts.
The World is an archipelago of artificial islands, shaped like the continents of the Earth, being constructed off the coast of Dubai. The project is inspired by the artificial Palm Islands also being built in Dubai. The World will consist of 250 to 300 smaller private artificial islands divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. The entire project is slated for completion in 2008.
Each island ranges from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet (23 226m² to 83 613m²) in size, with 50 to 100 metres of water between each island. The development covers an area of 9 kilometers in length and 6 kilometers in width, surrounded by an oval breakwater. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by boat and helicopter. Each island will cost an estimated average of $25 million (USD)
Similar to
The Palm, which I still can't fathom. More information on
this Wikipedia page, or visit
The World (Dubai) home page.