The World Islands

The World involves the creation of over 300 man made islands that are designed to represent the world map

The vision for The World project was provided by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister and was officially released on September 21, 2003

The islands will be built in the shape of the world map and consist of four protective breakwaters on the outer perimeters to provide shelter from long and cross-shore waves. The inner breakwaters will be a submerged reef and the outer breakwaters will be above water

Located just off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, The World is located 4km off shore from a point halfway between Port Rashid and The Palm, Jumeirah

Construction of The World commenced in September 2003, after many years of research. The project is scheduled to be completely raised from the sea in 2008.

Investors will have the freedom to create their own personal vision on the islands for private or commercial use, whether it is for leisure, residential or tourist developments. The 300 islands will be offered for sale on a freehold basis to selected investors only

Nakheel will hand over the islands to the investors once the land has been reclaimed in 2008.

The World will measure approximately 9km in length and 7km in width. It will cover over 9,340,000 square metres, and will add 232 kilometres of beachfront to Dubai’s coastline.

All of the islands will range from 150,000 sq feet to 450,000 sq feet in size, with the average island measuring approximately 300,000 square feet

326 million cubic metres of sand will be used to form the islands

32 million tons of rock will be used to construct the breakwater

The islands prices range from US$ 10 million – 45 million

The average distance between islands is 50-100 metres, with an average depth of water in the navigation channels of at least 5 metres

The World will be a sophisticated network of islands – Nakheel will integrate a series of waterways, canals and lakes to enhance the overall design

All 300 islands will only be accessible by marine or air transport, with world-class marinas to berth boats, yachts and cruise liners. 2 mainland marinas will service The World. 4 hub islands in The World will service the islands.

Construction on The World is round-the-clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week

The main Contractors for The World are Van Oord ACZ Marine Contractors Gulf FZE – Dubai who are responsible for land reclamation, dredging works and the breakwaters. This is the largest project Van Oord has undertaken in the region

The jumbo trailers being used to build The World can handle 20-25 thousand cubic metres of sand at any one time and require a water depth of at least 12 metres to operate.