Palm Jumeirah at 20: new 52-storey tower latest achievement on man-made island

The development of Palm Jumeirah epitomised Dubai's progressive vision

Sand is pumped onto a man-made island part of a $1 billion project in the shape of palm trees off the Dubai coast September 9, 2005. [Thousands of workers from the Indian subcontinent, lured by promises of jobs in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, toil in scorching heat and high humidity for most of the year. The emirate is fast becoming an architect's playground as more and more outlandish structures take it closer to its dream of being the world's most visually striking metropolis. The infrastructure boom is part of the emirate's ambition to attract foreign cash and investment into an economy that is weaning itself off rapidly-dwindling crude oil reserves.]

The View observation deck at the top of Palm Tower offers with 360 degrees of views of the Dubai skyline. Antonie Robertson / The National

The world famous Palm Jumeirah, one of the few giant structures that can be seen from space with the naked eye.

The first stage of creating the islands that can be seen today involved dredging large amounts of sea sand and transporting it considerable distances to deposit off the Dubai shoreline. The image shows a dredger barge pumping sand onto the sea bed 3 miles off the shore of Dubai in May 2002, with the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach hotels in the background. AFP

An aerial view in November 2003 shows the 17 fronds of the palm tree-shaped resort island on land reclaimed from the sea that will be visible from the moon. AFP

This NASA image, captured by the crew of the International Space Station in March, 2003, shows Palm Island along the coast of Dubai. NASA / AFP

A row of luxury villas pictured under construction on Palm Jumeirah on February 2, 2005. AP

Ongoing construction at Palm Jumeirah pictured on June 20, 2007. AFP

Hamza Mustafa, an executive of Nakheel, shows British tennis player Tim Henman (R) the Palm Island project model in Dubai on February 21, 2005. Henman was in the UAE to participate in the Dubai Open. AFP

A view of The Palm Jumeirah island on November 8, 2007, showing construction progress, with some residential homes completed. Reuters

An aerial view of The Palm Jumeirah islands on November 8, 2007 shows progress being made with the outer crescent, which is connected to the spine of The Palm by an undersea tunnel. Reuters

An aerial view of The Palm Jumeirah islands shows construction work under way with Atlantis The Palm in the foreground. Reuters

A view from the Palm Monorail on May 6, 2008, after it opens for business, The fully automatic driverless train ferried passengers between Gateway Towers and Atlantis stations when it opened. Getty Images

Construction continues on Palm Jumeirah on May 3, 2008, with cranes seen on buildings and Atlantis, The Palm visible on the breakwater of the Palm in the background. Reuters

Villas are seen on The Palm, Jumeirah, with Atlantis, The Palm, under construction, on the breakwater on May 3, 2008. Reuters

Atlantis, The Palm pictured under construction on May 3, 2008. The project was completed in September 2008. Reuters

Overview of Palm Jumeirah in 2009 shows construction progress being made with the shoreline apartments.

Overview of Palm Jumeirah in 2009 showing construction progress on the west crescent.

A view of the villas on Palm Jumeirah's fronds from Nakheel's residential complex 'Marina Residences' on November 9, 2009.

View looking down at the yet to be finished Palm Golden Mile in August 2009 from a penthouse at the Golden Mile development the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. Callaghan Walsh / The National

A view looking down at construction work on the The Palm from a penthouse at the Golden Mile development the Palm Jumeirah. Callaghan Walsh / The National

An aerial view of the Palm Jumeirah on October 25, 2010. Reuters

The shoreline apartments at the Palm Jumeirah pictured on January 5, 2011. Jaime Puebla / The National

The Palm Jumeriah with the Atlantis hotel in the background as seen from the 97th floor of the Princess Tower in Dubai Marina on November 2, 2011. Jeff Topping / The National

A general view of Atlantis resort in Dubai January 19, 2013. Reuters

Construction taking place on a new walkway along the outer edge of Palm Jumeirah on March 7 2016.

Dubai Marina, seen over the top of construction work on Palm Jumeirah on March 7, 2016. Alex Atack / The National.

The Atlantis resort on Palm Jumeirah, pictured in January 2016. AFP

Palm Jumeirah villas pictured in May 2016. There are 1,500 villas spread across the island’s 17 fronds. Bloomberg

Nakheel Mall under construction on Palm Jumeirah in 2016. Courtesy: Nakheel.

Shoreline Apartments are on the east side of the trunk of Palm Jumeirah

Fireworks at The Palm Fountain, The Pointe Dubai on Palm Jumeirah. A Guinness World Record was set in 2020 when the 130,000 square metre Palm Fountain opened, becoming the world’s largest when it began dazzling displays from The Pointe waterfront. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The Palm Jumeirah is home to 78,000 people of 70 different nationalities.

Palm Jumeirah added 70 kilometres of beaches to the Dubai's coastline.  Reem Mohammed / The National

120 million cubic metres of sand and 7 million tonnes of rock were used to build Palm Jumeirah.

Nakheel Mall on Palm Jumeirah opened to the public in November 2019. Courtesy: Nakheel.

Atlantis, The Palm remains one of Dubai's most popular hotels. Courtesy: Atlantis

The Royal Atlantis Residences & Resort is expected to open later this year.

Palm Tower is the latest addition to Palm Jumeirah, which includes The View observation deck, which offers 360 degrees of views of the Dubai Skyline. Antonie Robertson / The National

An aerial view of the spectacular Palm Jumeirah is one usually reserved for skydivers – but that will change when an observatory overlooking the huge man-made island opens to the public on Wednesday.

The 240-metre tall Palm Tower signifies the latest stage in the island’s development as a critical tourism hotspot, with up to 70 per cent of visitors to Dubai taking in a visit to the island.

At the summit of the striking structure stands The View At the Palm, offering panoramic views of the island.

It is 20 years since work began on one of the few structures that can be seen from space with the naked eye.

“The Palm Jumeirah has always been a hugely popular destination for tourists coming into Dubai,” said Gail Sangster, assets director for Nakheel Malls.

“I don’t think there is anyone who comes here for a visit who has not heard of The Palm or who has not wanted to come and see it.

“Having The View at The Palm gives tourists a new way to see the islands.

“Rather than from a hop-on and off bus like they would usually do, they can now experience it from all its glory from the observation point.

“It is a fantastic new addition for tourists coming to Dubai.

“Dubai is about creating multiple attractions, we are not trying to compete with the Burj Khalifa or other tourist destinations, but enhance Dubai’s vision and vast array of options.”

Much has changed since the first island plans were drawn up more than two decades ago.

The Palm has since become home to thousands of residents and attracts floods of tourists eager to make one of its many luxury hotels a base for a city stay.

Spawned from an idea to create acres of new hotel development land as Dubai accelerated its status as a global holiday destination, the palm-shaped island has become symbolic of the UAE's can-do attitude.

How the islands were built

A breakwater spanning 11 kilometres to protect the islands from the waves of the Arabian Gulf was created using 7 million tonnes of rock mined from 16 different quarries in the Northern Emirates and transported by sea to Dubai.

The crescent-shaped barrier is designed to absorb energy during both normal and extreme weather conditions.

It descends as deep as 100 metres in places and has become an artificial reef providing a safe habitat for all kinds of marine life.

Vibro-compaction – a construction technique to stabilise sand and gravel – compacted the imported materials to ensure they did not shift with the tide.

The work was done with relative speed to allow other structural construction to get under way, while decreasing the risk of shifting during earth tremors.

During this phase of the project, 15 cranes were on site to allow drilling of 200,000 holes at depths close to 16 metres. This was completed in July 2004.

The island is connected to the mainland by a 300-metre bridge, with the outer crescent connected to the spine of The Palm by an undersea tunnel.

Dredging

The dredging of sand from the seabed and land reformation to create one of the world’s largest man-made islands was a huge undertaking.

The first stage of creating the islands that can be seen today involved dredging large amounts of sea sand and transporting it considerable distances to deposit off the Dubai shoreline.

The shape of the island was then carefully plotted using satellite imagery to create the outline of a palm tree, although that design had changed slightly from an original idea to build them in the shape of a sun.

This was done by pouring and depositing more than 100 million cubic metres of sand to add 70 kilometres of beaches to the city’s coastline.

Shallow areas of beach were formed using a "rainbowing" technique, where sand was deposited into the water from cannons on-board hopper suction dredger vessels.

Meanwhile, cutter suction dredgers were used to help shape the islands, using gigantic rotating machine heads to carve through the rock and sand.

Once the sand was in place, land-based machinery and bulldozers heaved and pushed the imported materials to shape the final contour lines of the island and to form the beaches.

Enough sand to spread across 600 football pitches was extracted 10 nautical miles offshore during the entire process.

Rapid development

Fast forward to 2021, the 52-storey Palm Tower now overlooks 1,500 villas spread across the island’s 17 fronds, with two marinas capable of housing up to 538 ships, up to 36 metres in length.

Waterside residences have also been built in Palm Marina east and west, as well as along the trunk in the Shoreline properties, while Palm West Beach has recently opened to offer a destination for beach relaxation, eating and drinking.

The Palm Monorail has a line spanning 4.8km and now stops at five stations.

Starting at Palm Gateway on the trunk, the train also calls in at Al Ittihad Park, the Atlantis Aquaventure water park, Nakheel Mall and with The Pointe due to open soon.

A Guinness World Record was set in 2020 when the 130,000 square metre Palm Fountain opened, becoming the world’s largest when it began dazzling displays from The Pointe waterfront.

The finishing touches are being applied to the new $1.4 billion Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, due to open later this year.

The hotel's two striking towers will be connected by a "spa-bridge" and have 90 swimming pools on site.

“Twenty years ago, Nakheel embarked on a journey to bring the vision of Palm Jumeirah to life and today, we celebrate its growing success story,” said Omar Khoory, chief assets and hospitality officer, Nakheel.

“As well as a world attraction, The View at The Palm tower will uncover the evolutionary journey behind building one of the most splendid man-made islands in the world.”

Beachfront destination Palm West Beach - in pictures