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Dubai
launches
giant
palm
tree
resort
island
Dubai
has
unveiled
plans
for
a
palm
tree-shaped
resort
island
on
land
reclaimed
from
the
sea
that
will
add
120
kilometres
of
sandy
beaches
and
be
visible
from
the
moon.
"Palm
Island"
will
include
2,000
villas,
up
to
40
luxury
hotels,
shopping
complexes,
cinemas
and
the
Middle
East's
first
marine
park,
said
Sultan
bin
Sulayem,
chairman
of
Dubai
Palm
Developers.
The
island
will
be
built
in
the
shape
of
17
huge
fronds
surrounded
by
12
kilometres
(7.5
miles)
of
protective
barrier
reefs,
extending
five
kilometres
(three
miles)
into
the
sea
south
of
Dubai
city.
"The
project
has
taken
four
years
of
methodical
planning
and
exhaustive
feasibility
studies
to
ensure
that
the
islands
can
be
built
without
disrupting
the
environment,"
Sulayem
said.
They
will
be
accessible
by
300-metre
(990-feet)
bridges
from
the
mainland
or
boat
to
two
marinas,
while
the
main
causeway
will
also
have
a
monorail
system.
The
project
will
be
built
on
80
million
cubic
metres
(2.8
billion
cubic
feet)
of
land
dredged
from
the
approach
channel
to
the
emirate's
Jebel
Ali
port,
an
operation
that
will
deepen
the
channel
to
17
metres
(56
feet).
Khalid
bin
Sulayem,
head
of
Dubai's
tourism
board,
said
the
project
would
elevate
Dubai
"from
regional
players
to
leaders
in
tourism
development
who
focus
on
modernising
and
expanding
tourism
infrastructure
to
attract
more
tourists."
Property
on
the
islands,
expected
to
take
up
to
four
years
to
complete,
will
be
for
sale
to
foreigners
as
well
as
Emiratis.
Sulayem
did
not
put
on
a
figure
on
the
project
cost.
A
consultant
with
Palm
Developers
told
AFP
at
Dubai's
Arabian
Travel
Market
that
the
contract
for
the
project
was
expected
to
be
awarded
next
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