Updated: November 5, 2024

Back in 2003, Dubai announced it was commencing construction of a multibillion-dollar project named “The World”. This man-made archipelago was supposed to consist of islands imitating different countries and containing luxurious tourist resorts and private homes.but today, 17 years later, the project remains incomplete begging the questions, What went wrong? Why? And will they ever finish it?

In early 2000, Dubai was booming. Real estate prices were sky high and demand for ocean properties massive. Real estate developer NAKHEEL came up with various projects including 3 different palm tree islands, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Deira, and Palm Jebel Ali and of course “The World”. In addition, there were future plans to add “The Universe” which would include the sun, the moon, other planets, the milky way, and a distant galaxy. There were also plans to build “The Dubai Waterfront” a massive island complex designed to protect Palm Jebel Ali from erosion.

So with such a bright future ahead why did everything just stop?
Well, Dubai’s economy relies heavily on crude oil, while the 2008 world financial crisis didn’t affect them directly, it did affect them indirectly. Oil prices plummeted, as did real estate demand and construction companies started going bust. John O’Dolan who bought the island of Ireland for 25 million pounds committed suicide, Safi Qurashi who bought Britain was sent to prison for bouncing checks and in 2009 NAKHEEL had to be bailed out of a $25 billion debt.

The Palm Jebel Ali project came to a standstill and in 2011 NAKHEEL offered investors refunds. The Dubai Waterfront project has also been discontinued and Palm Deira has been downsized and rebranded Deira Islands.
The world has larger problems, with investors having pulled out and the man-made islands eroding back into the sea. People are worried about how rising sea levels will affect it and also how the dredging and disruption of the sea bed may affect the ecosystem.

Existing residents of Palm Jumeirah have begun complaining about water quality as the breakwater barrier not only stops erosion but also stops the natural tidal movement, causing the water inside Palm Jumeirah to become stagnant.
All these problems have caused a lack of faith in the feasibility of the project.

In 2014 an Australian real estate developer announced “The European Islands” project to be opened in 2020. Although covid19 has delayed this, phase 1 is still planned to open in 2020 and will consist of Sweden beach palaces, Germany villas, Honeymoon island, Portofino hotel, and Côte d’Azur resort.

Whether this is the spark to relight the project’s fire or it’s final fizzling out, only time will tell!

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