The Palm Islands, which was launched in 2001, is an icon of enormously impressive magnetism, capable of stimulating interest at any latitude.
By now known as the Eighth Wonder of the World, in effect it was born of the need to resolve the problems of scarcity of beaches at Dubai, which clearly was a limitation for a country for some time devoted to the most refined and advanced form of tourism. An objective which has been reached and then some.
Today, the coast of Dubai has been doubled in length, as will also be doubled the number of hotels located directly on the seafront. When the Dubai legislator Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem drew a sketch of a palm, he immediately realised that its braches and leaves would have succeeded in offering more coastline compared to a normal island. It was from this idea that the project was born for the Palm, formed from a trilogy of islands.
Alongside high class, international level restaurants and residences, the island houses facilities for free time, shopping and entertainment, which in terms of quality, quantity and variety are completely new. Thanks to this impressive hospitality offer, an influx is forecasted of around 20,000 visitors a day, which is the highest of all the Emirates.
It was beyond doubt that the coast of Dubai and its landscape would have been profoundly altered by The Palm Jumeirah. Such a great responsibility encouraged the Emirate authorities to guarantee conservation and environmental sustainability and to implement a vast range of studies and policies in favour of the environment, already undertaken during the preliminary planning phases, by means of local and international institutes, which have put together a general document regarding analysis of environmental impact. Thus, eventual environmental damage has been identified. The marine and land eco-systems have been reinforced and impacts which could manifest themselves at termination of the projects implementation have been simulated.
Efficacious guidelines and policies for sustaining the environment, together with monitoring programs have been activated in order to verify, among other things, that all approved projects be implemented in full respect of the eco-system.
An essential element in the monitoring activity is technology of the most advanced kind, which among its many benefits, contributes to energy saving and the reduction of waste in terms of water and raw materials. The buildings under construction are built using materials with low environmental impact and are appropriately isolated, so as to reduce energy expenditure as much as possible. Solar panels, which are so much more precious for the fact that they are used in an area which is almost constantly blessed by the sun, are a must for The Palm Dubai.
Photograph provided courtesy of Imre Solt