The World Islands

The World Islands, or The World, are 300 artificial islands shaped in the form of a world map. These islands are located in the Persian Gulf in front of Jumeirah beach at about 4 km (2,5 mi) from the coast. It is the largest dredging project in progress on the planet. The size of the islands are between 14.000 and 42.000 m2 (150.000 and 450.000 sq.ft.), the distance between the islands is on average 100 meters (330 ft) and have created about 232 km (144 mi) of shoreline. In total this mega project covers an area of about 6 by 9 km (3,7 by 5,6 mi). The islands themselves are surrounded by an breakwater island and are mainly constructed out of rocks and sand.

The construction of the islands began in 2003. In 2008 about 60% of the islands were already sold, but due to the 2008-2010 financial crisis the project was suspended. The financial crisis was unfortunately not the only problem of this mega project. There are also discussions going on between developers and investors about erosion of the islands, boat transportation rights, the supply of utilities like water and electricity and the silting of the navigational channels between the islands. But the good news is that the property prices have been rising again after the financial crisis. And since the beginning of 2016 it seems that the developments of the project Heart of Europe (which includes the islands of Germany, Main Europe, Monaco, Saint Petersburg, Sweden and Switzerland) have proceeded again. At this moment are two islands finished. These are Lebanon which has much commercial development like restaurants, a beach club and bars and Greenland which is a private island and used as a showpiece.