Reclamation finished for Palm Jumeirah

The reclamation work for the ambitious Palm Jumeirah project has been completed ahead of schedule and Nakheel, the developers, has begun constructing the superstructure.

It is expected that another two to three years will be required to complete the infrastructure and the buildings for The Palm Jumeirah.

Van Oord ACZ Marine Contractors Gulf FZE, Dubai, carried out the land reclamation and dredging works for The Palm, Jumeirah.

The China Railway and Engineering Corporation is responsible for reclamation and dredging works on The Palm, Jebel Ali, where more than 10 per cent of the reclamation is complete.

Sayed Ahmad Sayed, Nakheel's managing director of projects for engineering, said a large part of the infrastructure work has been awarded to Al Naboodah Engineering, and the contract to construct two bridges connecting the crescents has been awarded to Archiroden Constructions.

Sayed said this on the sidelines of a meeting convened to announce the launch of Palm District Cooling's district cooling project for Palm Jumeirah, which will be constructed at a cost of Dh700 million.

The new district cooling company - Palm District Cooling - was set up a few days ago as a 50:50 joint venture between Gulf District Cooling and Nakheel Real Estate.

The district cooling systems at The Palm Jumeirah will comprise a central cooling unit to feed this man-made island – the first of its kind in the world. The central cooling work will be executed in four phases and it will have an estimated capacity of 140,000 tonnes.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), said this venture came in line with a number of other service projects that Nakheel is expected to announce soon.

They include projects in services like electric power, gas connections, security, safety, waste treatment and water desalination, which are expected to bring down the services fees substantially.

Massive development
The two Palm projects will increase Dubai's shoreline by a total of 120 km and create a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment opportunities. Each island will support 50 luxury hotels, 2,500 exclusive residential beach-side villas, up to 2,400 shoreline apartments, two marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas and cinemas.