Business | Construction
Mud from Arabian Canal site can fill 6oo pools
Excavated earth will be used to form new landscapes along the canal, including mountains up to 200 metres high.
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:08 July 14, 2008
Dubai: More than 1.5 million cubic metres of earth -enough to fill 600 Olympic-size swimming pools - has been excavated for the Arabian Canal, the 75-km man-made waterway designed and managed by Limitless, the company said in a statement.
Excavation work on the $11 billion project has left a giant hole which, at 700 metres long, 200 metres wide and up to 45 metres deep, is big enough to hold nearly 20 A380 Airbuses or eight of the world's largest cruise ships.
The excavated earth - amounting to one billion cubic metres - will be used to form new landscapes along the canal, including mountains up to 200 metres high, providing views of the waterway and creating land on which to build hillside villages.
Limitless is using the world's most sophisticated camera and video technology to monitor land changes throughout the excavation, which began in December and will continue for the next four years.
A Goematics Information Systems team carries out weekly aerial mapping surveys from a helicopter up to 600 metres above ground, and will soon be tracking progress at ground level with new laser scanning equipment mounted on top of a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Saeed Ahmad Saeed, CEO of Limitless, said: "The world is watching as the Arabian Canal takes shape. The project will bring life into the desert, creating a landmark destination for Dubai's residents and visitors in the form of a navigable waterway and a balanced, sustainable city for more than 1.5 million people."
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