10 Facts about Palm Jumeirah

Here are 10 interesting facts about the world’s largest man-made island

1. World’s largest man-made island - It covers 5.72 sq. km. an area that is equal to 600 football pitches.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Visible from space - It is the only man-made island in the world which is visible from space.

9. 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.

10. 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.