Updated: October 6, 2024

If you enjoyed this video about Dubai’s Man Made Islands then check out this other video that we made about how they were created!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Csd6KODRBU

The city of Dubai is well-known for its extravagant lifestyle. Everything is gleaming and new; a luxurious oasis among the dunes of an endless desert. However, they accomplished something so extravagant years ago that it made everything else pale in comparison–all the gold-plated Lamborghinis, the Burg Khalifa, and the glistening fountains. It’s known as The World, and it’s a vast man-made archipelago in the shape of Earth’s countries, which can be viewed from space. It is now sinking, according to reports. In today’s video we will talk about the sinking man made islands of Dubai.
The multibillion-dollar “The World” project was announced in 2003. The man-made archipelago, built like a map of the world, was designed to include opulent homes and tourism attractions all within a short boat trip of Dubai. However, almost nothing has been developed on these islands after more than a decade after they were completed. So, what went wrong?

Real estate developers saw an immense opportunity in artificially producing land off the coast of Dubai in the early 2000s. The Emirate’s real estate boom appeared to have no bounds. And there was a lot of interest in beachfront residences. The majority of Dubai’s coastline had already been expanded.

The World’s Developers had lofty goals. They were intended to be filled with hotels and luxury mansions for the super-rich when they were first built. The islands of The World were sold to the highest bidders since they could only be reached by boat. Owners might then claim ownership of Ireland, the United Kingdom, or any other part of the globe they bought.
So, in under two decades, Nakheel Properties, a real estate corporation owned by Dubai’s government, set out to completely transform the region. A number of ideas were unveiled between 2001 and 2006.
The firm proposed three separate island developments that, when viewed from space, would resemble palm trees. Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, and, by far, Palm Deira. There was also a mention of “The World.” Low-density homes, high-density complexes, and commercially viable islands were all envisioned. “The World” was to be augmented by a larger project called “The Universe” in a second phase. Man-made islands in the shape of the sun, moon, solar system planets, milky way, and distant galaxies have been planned.
The Islands of Dubai are artificial islands built by the city-state of Dubai.

Palm Jebel Ali should be shielded from erosion by the shape. All of these projects would have reshaped the majority of Dubai’s coast, as the Emirate of Abu Dhabi begins on one side and the Emirate of Sharjah begins on the other. In retrospect, the level of trust with which these projects progressed is incredible.

The islands, on the other hand, were viewed as prestige projects that served the greater goal of transforming Dubai into a major tourist destination, thereby diversifying Dubai’s revenue sources away from oil. Let’s see what happened to these grand intentions. The Palm Jumeirah was begun by Nakheel Properties in 2001.
The length of Dubai’s shoreline would be doubled alone by this project. The land reclamation was finished in 2006, and the first residences were handed over in 2007. Private dwellings are mostly found on the palm strands.

A number of enormous luxury hotels have been built on the palm’s breakwater ring, which protects it from hurricanes. Other projects began to take shape while Palm Jumeirah was still under construction. The rate of expansion of Dubai in the twenty-first century appeared to have hit a new high.

The real estate market has exploded. There were also a handful of high-profile projects completed, including the world’s tallest structure, the Burj Khalifa. The Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeirah opened in September 2008 with a spectacular firework display that spanned the entire Palm. The international financial crisis, however, began to hit Dubai, despite the celebrations.

The financial crisis has taken a toll in Dubai. Particularly in the field of real estate. Artificial islands off the coast, for example, are in jeopardy of collapsing. A large number of construction sites have been halted.” The price of land plots dropped dramatically due to a decrease in demand. Palm Jebel Ali’s construction came to a halt. The project has been on hold since 2011, when Nakheel Properties offered refunds to investors.
The empty sand banks that stretch out into the sea for 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) seem strangely forgotten. The Palm is situated behind the Jebel Ali Port, away from any urban development. And the project planners’ ideals seemed to vanish in a puff of sand.

variety of ways. Such prestige projects serve as a source of national pride in addition to luring tourists.