Here are 10 interesting facts about the world’s largest man-made island
- World’s largest man-made island – It covers 5.72 sq. km. an area that is equal to 600 football pitches.
- Not technically an island – An island is a land that is surrounded by water and detached from land, but Palm Jumeirah is connected to Dubai by a 1.4 km bridge.
- Made from millions of tons of rock and sand – Instead of concrete slabs, the foundations of The Palm were created from 7 million tons of rock and sand. Enough to form a 2m-wide wall that would circle the globe three times.
- Engineers used satellites to plot the shape – Guided by a hi-tech GPS, the sand dredgers sprayed the sand into place with pinpoint accuracy. This created the crescent -shape, the trunk, and 17 inner fronds.
- Built-in just six years –The construction of the island was initiated in 2001 and after six years the new land was ready for construction. Residential and commercial development started in 2006.
- It has its own monorail – It connects Palm Jumeirah to Dubai’s coastline for transport purposes. The monorail transports over 20,000 passengers per day.
- A 6-lane sea tunnel – It’s built using 200,000 cubic metres of reinforced concrete, 30,000 tons of reinforcing steel and 110,000 tons of rock – and connects the trunk to the crescent, 25m below sea level.
- Visible from space – It is the only man-made island in the world which is visible from space.
- An 11km breakwater protects the island – The crescent-shaped breakwater protects the inner island from strong sea currents and the seasonal ‘shamal’ winds that blow across the Gulf from Iraq.
- It cost a whopping USD 12 Billion – The cost of construction in Palm Jumeirah Island is worth $12 billion that excludes dwellings and resorts. It is also home to the ultra-luxurious hotel, Atlantis The Palm.
