Photos: 20 years since construction began on Dubai’s iconic Palm Jumeirah

Dredging and foundation laying work for the Palm Island began in 2001, and six years later, the island’s first residents moved in.

Ship and barge start constructing the Palm Island project in Dubai. The Global Positioning System (GPS) was placed into space at a height of about 676 kilometres to pinpoint the accuracy of the Palm shape.

The unique structure of Palm Jumeirah comprises of a whopping 95 million cubic metres of sand.

The island resembles a stylised palm tree built from the reclaimed land mass and artificial archipelagos.

Also, 7 million tons of rocks were obtained from the Hajar Mountains and carried to construct the base. Above, construction work in 2005.

The basic infrastructure was in place by 2004, and the island was open for construction in 2006.

One of the most interesting Palm Jumeirah engineering facts is that no steel or concrete was used during the creation of this artificial island in Dubai.

An aerial view of construction work in progress at the Palm Jumeirah during a helicopter ride in 2007.

Fireworks are seen during the grand opening of Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai on November 21, 2008. The $1.5 billion mega-resort with 1,539 rooms is the first resort to open on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah island.

Palm Jumeirah is 5km long, with the crescent is about 10.5 miles. Altogether, it covers 560 hectares of land that is an area equal to 3.1 miles.

There is also a monorail that connects Palm Jumeirah to Dubai’s coastline for transport purposes. It transports over 20,000 passengers per day.

Palm Jumeirah has also attracted celebrities from around the world. English footballer David Beckham owns a villa in Palm Jumeirah. Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan also has a 6-bedroom mansion in Palm Jumeirah, and the luxury address is his favourite staycation destination.

The Palm Fountain was inaugurated on 22 October 2020 at the Point Palm Jumeirah. The Palm Fountain has broken the record for the world’s largest fountain with 7,327 square meters.

The View at The Palm, an observation deck from where one can have a 360-degree view of Palm Jumeirah, opened for the public on April 7, 2021

Sure, on the ground, the eyes can take in the sheer magnitude of what’s been built out of the sea, those magnificent homes and hotel resorts, and some sumptuous F&B hangouts.