Palm Jumeirah

The Palm Jumeirah is a manmade archipelago in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, created using land reclamation by Nakheel which extends into the Persian Gulf. It is part of a larger series of developments called the Palm Islands, including Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, which, when completed, will together increase Dubai's shoreline by a total of 520 kilometres (320 mi). It has an estimated population of 10,500 as of 2016.[citation needed] It is located on the Jumeirah coastal area of the emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The construction was done as a joint venture by two Dutch specialist companies, Van Oord and Boskalis. The same companies also created The World. The recently opened destinations The Pointe, Club Vista Mare and Nakheel Mall are the latest additions to The Palm Jumeirah.

Construction of the Palm Jumeirah island began in June 2001 and the developers announced handover of the first residential units in 2006.

At this time, 75% of the properties were ready to hand over, with 500 families already residing on the island. By the end of 2009, 28 hotels were opened on the Crescent.

The complexities of the construction were blamed, in part, for the extended delays to the completion of the project, the date of which was pushed back multiple times and was nearly two years late.

In 2009, The New York Times reported that NASA's laser altimeter satellites had measured the Palm as sinking at the rate of 5 mm (0.20 in) per year. In response Nakheel said they had received no reports of structural problems of a type that would be expected if there were any subsidence, and pointed out that the laser satellites had a measurement resolution of only 50 mm (2.0 in).