Reclamation of the Palm Jumeirah Islands is moving swiftly with more than a third of the process now complete. Construction of The Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001 and its reclamation is scheduled to take around two years in total.
The Palm involves the creation of two man-made islands known as the Palm Jumeirah and the Palm Jebel Ali. Located just off the coast of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two palm tree shaped islands are expected to contribute to the city’s position as tourist destination.
The project will increase Dubai’s shoreline by a total of 120 kilometers and create a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment opportunities. Comprised of approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand, each island will eventually support 50 luxury hotels, 2,500 exclusive residential beachside villas, up to 2,400 shoreline apartments, two marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas and cinemas.
Although thousands of engineering techniques will be used over the course of the project the predominant one being employed in the first reclamation phase, is dredging. In simple terms this involves the collection and placing of the sand, which is being dredged locally.
The sand is suctioned via a Trailer Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) or a Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) and transported to the location of the island. It is then dropped into place and piled at a 35-45 degree angle of refraction, ensuring it will hold in place. This process is carried out to a depth of minus five meters.
After the initial dumping of sand, a dredger pumps the sand to the surface with a process called rainbowing, which literally sprays the sand into proper position. In total each island will require 93 million cubic meters of sand put in place through these dredging techniques.
Van Oord ACZ Marine Contractors Gulf of Dubai are responsible for land reclamation and dredging works on The Palm Jumeirah, whilst China Railway & Engineering Corporation is responsible for reclamation and dredging works on The Palm Jebel Ali.
The Palm Jumeirah currently has 844 men involved in the reclamation process together with seven dredgers, 12 barges, seven crane barges and 13 boats. The Palm Jebel Ali currently has 253 men involved in the reclamation process.
Both islands will take approximately two years to be completely raised from the sea. A further two to three years will be required to complete the infrastructure and the buildings. The end-result will be the creation of two virtually self-contained communities within the islands. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
