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The
World: A Paradise
in the Making
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| Imagine a place that is the
microcosm of the world, a true
replica of all the continents floating
on a bed of pristine blue seawater.
But the best thing about this
recreation of the world is that it avoids
all the warts and focuses only on beauty
and sublimity. If you believe in the idea
that the purpose of any construction
project is not to diminish the natural
environment, but to improve on nature’s
work, create even more beauty, even
more utility, then you will appreciate the
grandiose vision of The World project
that is racing towards completion in
Dubai. |
| Where once existed only a blank
canvas of rapidly rising and falling azure
waters of the Arabian Sea, there will now
exist an array of man-made paradisiacal
islands. The islands are shaped and
arrayed in such a way that they conjure
the vision of a miniature planet earth. You
can easily visualize all the continents in a
scaled down size. This is a development
truly in epic proportions; a development
that plans to transmogrify a barren sea
into the world’s most coveted tourist |
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| destination or home address depending
on the size of your wallet. |
| Dubai’s premier developer, Nakheel,
is handling the project with true
sophistication. If anything, over the
years Nakheel has built up an impressive
track record of creating brick and
mortar icons that embody innovation
and progress. In addition to The
World, other internationally acclaimed
developments in their portfolio are The
Palm, The Dubai Waterfront, and many
other projects that are worth more than
$30 billion (120,000 crores). Once these
projects are complete they will spread
across more than 30,000 hectares in
the city and add more than 1,500 km of
beachfront to the Dubai coastline. |
| It is fitting that a prestigious
construction project such as The World
is coming up in Dubai. After all, the
luxury lifestyle that Dubai offers has
always been considered perfect for the
discerning tourist as well as the well
heeled residents. This is a city that boasts
of having more five star hotel rooms than
all of Miami Beach. There are a plethora
or world-class restaurants that serve
top class gourmet meal from all parts
of the world. Incredible golf courses are
here, and so are water sports facilities,
and many unique opportunities for
exciting desert adventures. From refined |
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| boutiques to an indoor ski mountain,
there is something for everyone. |
| When The World is ready to accept
visitors, it is going to be a fitting addition
to Dubai’s myriad appealing attributes. |
| In order to contemplate the magnitude
of the project you have to realize that
nothing like this has ever been done in
the history of humanity. No nation in the
world has ever tried to dot their coastline
with so many islands. The World project,
envisaged by Nakheel, is planning to
build 250 to 300 smaller private artificial
islands spread across an area that is
9 kilometers long and 6 kilometers
wide. The islands are divided into
four categories - private homes, estate
homes, dream resorts, and community
islands. Their size ranges from 250,000
to 900,000 square feet, and there will
be 50 to 100 meters of water between
different islands. |
| The sheer pace at which the construction
activity is progressing is astonishing;
you can almost watch the islands being
created on the surface of the sea by
the power of man and his machines. It
is easy to be impressed by the aesthetic
beauty and the seamless functionality
that resides at the heart of this project.
There is the stunning halo effect of the
islands, there are picturesque canals, |
| strategically placed transportation hubs
and marinas, world-class commercial
centers, theatres, luxurious resorts, and
more. It seems that the promoters of this
project have thought of everything that
might turn this patch of sea into a true
microcosm of a materialistic paradise on
earth. |
| The only way to travel between
different islands is by marine transport.
Water taxis and ferries are being
especially designed to handle a large
portion of the transportation. But it is
likely that a majority of property owners
at The World might prefer to own,
maintain, and operate a boat. To handle
the traffic around the islands different
kinds of marinas are being designed.
Island marinas are coming up to service
transportation needs of the customers
of resort islands. Then there are the
commercial marinas that will be built
on the larger islands that might have to handle larger volumes of boats. |
| In addition to these marinas, two hub
marinas are also being built to provide
space to berth large volumes of yachts,
ferries, and water taxis, when they are
not in use. The endeavor to keep the
islands well supplied entails some deft
engineering work. A state of the art
centralized system is coming up to service
all the basic needs of the residents. On
opposite ends of The World a central
water and power plant is being built. A
combined central sewage system and
reuse system is being designed in such a
way that it is impossible for raw sewage
to seep into the ocean. |
| Upon completion The World will exist
in perfect harmony with the marine life
that inhabits its waters around it. That
human beings can conceive and build a
chain of 300 luxurious islands, without
harming marine life in any way, is by
itself a feat worth celebrating. |
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