Palm Jumeirah

 island, artificial island, tourist attraction

The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial island created using land reclamation by Nakheel, a company owned by the Dubai government. It is one of three islands called The Palm Islands which will increase Dubai’s shoreline by a total of 520 km. The Palm Jumeirah is the smallest and the original of three Palm Islands (Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira) under development by Nakheel. It is located on the Jumeirah Coastal area on the emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The Palm Jumeirah is in the shape of a palm tree. It consists of a trunk, a crown with 17 fronds, and its total area is larger than 800 football fields. The crown is connected to the mainland by a 300-metre bridge and the crescent is connected to the top of the palm by a subsea tunnel. Over the next few years, as the tourism phases develop, the palm Jumeirah is touted as soon to be one of the world's premier resorts. The Palm Island is the self-declared "Eighth Wonder of the World". It will double the length of the Dubai coastline.

According to the developer's publicity material, the Palm Jumeirah will feature themed boutique hotels, three types of villas, shoreline apartment buildings, beaches, marinas, restaurants, cafes, and a variety of retail outlets. Over 30 beachfront hotels will be opened by the end of 2009.

There will be a 5.4-kilometre monorail built on the island which is able to transport 40,000 people every day.

Construction on the Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001 and the total cost of the project reached $12,300,000,000.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakheel_Properties