Dubai's man-made Islands were supposed To look like this luxury exuberance and Grandiosity instead after 20 years of Work and 13 billion dollars they make up An unimpressive scatter of sand with a Few barely recognizable continents where Did it all go wrong when the idea came About in 2001 Dubai had limited Coast Left for waterfront property setting Into motion the plan of well creating More coastline through the introduction Of four new Coastal Mega projects there Was the world archipelago and what was Supposed to have been The Universe Surrounding it the palmdera the Palm Jebel Ali and finally the Palm jamirah Which has since become the only Successful development for a few notable Reasons firstly the Palm jamiro was Built prior to the other projects having Been completed in 2006 before the global Financial crisis on top of this jamiro Was the smallest and most easily Accessible of the four projects being Built off the already established Al-sufu a popular area known for being The most expensive District in all of Dubai the Palm itself has been planned Incredibly well with a perfect mix of Residential and commercial property Making it a self-sustaining area with Businesses for the residents however That's not to say that the project has Been without problems shortly after its
Completion the New York Times reported That the Palm jamirah as well as the Three other Mega projects were all Sinking back into the ocean at a rate of Five millimeters per year with one Article stating we're guessing that sand Piled up from the ocean floor isn't all That good at sustaining the weight of Tons of man-made structures cars and so Forth the Island's developer nikil Properties responded to these claims by Stating the Palm is intact if there were Subsidence you would see cracks in the Buildings Windows popping out we have no Evidence of that happening even going so Far as to sue the Builder penguin Marine Who simply stated that erosion could eat Away at the islands then there's the Issue of the water itself the three Man-made Palms were designed with a Crescent on the outside protecting the Residential houses on the inside from The open ocean although this has since Resulted in issues with waterfall lower Essentially turning the ocean into a Lake by stagnating the water within the Crescent on top of this a study was Published in 2022 discussing the Palm Jamiro Island's construction effects on The surrounding water quality and Surface temperatures which found that The Island's construction permanently Changed the quality and temperature of The water causing yet another concern
From the public to do with the Environment I have so many questions Though ecological and economic concerns Did the construction of the Island's Driveway marine life where did the Brought in sand come from and what Methods did they use to make sure that The original place of the sand didn't Suffer any ecological disaster when Construction began on the islands back In the early 2000s environmental Sustainability wasn't the massive Concern that it is these days the Islands were built by transporting 94 Million cubic meters of sand from the Seafloor displacing marine life in the Process a Duke University study from 2006 which analyzed the Island's impacts On Marine Wildlife found that the Palm Jamira has buried an asphyxiated Wildlife increased turbidity and changed The a Longshore sediment transport while Also completely changing the wave Patterns on the mainland the 2006 WWF Living planet report then found that at The time the average person in the Emirates puts more Demand on the global Ecosystem than any other given the Country the world's largest per capita Ecological footprint owed impart to Projects such as the four man-made Islands and if these issues apply to Even the most successful Island then the Other three unsuccessful Islands must
Have even more problems take for example The Palm Jebel Ali to the South which Suffers from one of the most unfixable Property related issues a terrible Location I had the chance to view the Islands from the shore as they were Being built even before viewing them in Person I could never understand why Anybody would want to live in that Location the Palm Jebel Ali is located So far south of the city its closest Notable development is the Dubai port And Industrial District while the Palm Itself extends from nothing besides the Already existing desert which isn't Exactly the greatest spot the original Playing for this Palm included a new Residential district at the entrance However as you can say they never really Got there some sand and road work has Been completed on the palm although if You look a little closer there are signs Showing that the project had to hold Suddenly for example these broken Sectors at the end of the Palm indicate That they weren't quite finished laying Sand and see this little island over Here to the Southwest well that was Supposed to be another artificial island Called the Dubai Waterfront designed to Combat erosion on the palm however as You can see the Waterfront project has Also since been abandoned official data Was published showing that nikhil sold
Only 29 houses on the palm Jebel Ali Before it seized Construction in 2009 With this date hinting at the first Major problem Dubai has been hit by the Global financial crisis especially in Real estate Mega projects like the Artificial island off the coast are in Danger of collapse many construction Sites have shut down the global Financial crisis evaporated demand for Dubai housing with prices Falling by Over 60 percent into 2008 and 2009 the Empty Palm Jebel Ollie was abandoned as Dubai's lower property prices meant to Kill could no longer earn enough to Cover its construction costs which was Then tied in with an even more serious Problem the developer of the man-made Islands was funded by the Dubai Government which relied on oil for its Income which over a six-month period in 2008 dropped from 140 a barrel to forty Dollars a barrel this meant that on top Of being unable to fetch the property Prices they needed the developers no Longer had the money to build the homes In the first place and it's not like a Better location offered a fix to this Problem the Palm dearer to the north was Said to be Dubai's largest of the Three Palms possibly for its central location Close to the city and Airport however This project made it no further than an Entrance and a small section at the tip
Of the Crescent for this reason in 2013 The project was rebranded as the Dira Islands with the goal of utilizing the Half-built area to feature 80 hotels Multiple residential towers as well as a Golf course the the project should be Completed in accordance with Dubai's 2040 master plan which might still be Sooner than the most catastrophic of the Four man-made Islands the world the 2003 Promotional video for the world Described it as an island paradise where Unprecedented opportunity can be found Before going on to state that residents And visitors will enjoy an exceptional Array of retail venues the video showed Lavish green islands with prestigious Villas boats and cafes calling it The Ultimate in exclusivity and while this Might be true to some extent it's likely Because nobody else has any desire to be There the islands themselves look like An absolute travesty North America and Canada are shaped like a diamond and cut Off by what appears to be the North Pole While Greenland is the same size as the North American continent when in reality Greenland is approximately 20 times Smaller Australia looks more like the Head of a dog while New Zealand is Shaped like an archway and is missing The bottom half of the country yet the Shaping of the islands is a pretty small Problem in comparison to their plate
Lack of development over ninety percent Of the islands are completely empty Despite being 60 sold 15 years ago with Most being used for Google Maps Advertising of computer stores cafes and Of course the swag like Ohio beach However that's not to say that there Hasn't been any construction on the Islands a seven million dollar house was Built by the developers in the northwest Corner of Greenland which was then Bizarrely gifted to the German Formula One driver Michael Schumacher who's Never even commented on the project or Given any indication that he's even Visited the house on top of this the Island of Lebanon has been developed Into a beach club which can be used to Escape the noise of the city when it was Visited by yes theory in their exploring Dubai's empty Islands video he showed That the Lebanon Island was fairly empty Yeti also noted that it was right in the Middle of covert which likely impacted Its popularity at the time the beige Club describes itself as the First Development to open its doors to the Public yet this might hint at why the Rest of the world's islands are yet to Be developed there's nothing else round Without any close businesses or things To do people aren't going to build Houses out there but at the same time Without any houses business owners
Aren't going to go and launch a business Out there given the isolated location The only people to use any such business Would be those already on the islands Because it's not going to be efficient For a mainlander to get on a boat and Travel all the way out to the world just To buy something at a store even then What kind of business are you gonna Launch in the middle of the ocean with Nothing else around what's even crazier Is that between 2023 and 2028 the kill Properties plans to develop another set Of islands around the world called the Universe which seems totally crazy given The lack of success on the existing Islands for which a Reddit user had a Different theory about their failure my Understanding is that when the master Developer sold the islands you didn't Just buy a plot of sand in the sea you Bought much more the land was sold with Infrastructure and that included Electricity potable water waste Management for trash waste management For sewage Transportation links Water Taxis when the master developer handed Over the islands they said nope you're On your own none of the above the reason Why Sofia were built on their islands is Because now they have them they have to Build their own power plants Desalination plants water sewage Treatment facilities find someone to
Take all their trash and provide all the Transport to bring all their guests to And fro for most developers they don't Have the experience ability or funding To do all the above the only thing they Could do is walk away or try to find a New buyer for their Island but knowing The current facts who would buy them Despite these limitations a luxury hotel Complex called the heart of Europe has Recently been completed on the European Islands in the world which has some Absolutely insane features such as a Snow room a massive sauna and an Underwater bedroom which in a weird way Shows that the project has been somewhat Successful the point of the islands was To increase Dubai's Coastline and Tourism by doing something unprecedented And while only one of the four Mega Projects has been successful they've Certainly generated some very Interesting discussion