Palm Deira (Dubai)
The Palm Deira was announced for development in October 2004. Upon completion, it will become the world's largest man-made island, housing more than a million people. Although no timetable for completion has been announced, it is expected to be finished by 2015. This island is 8 times larger than the Palm Jumeirah, and 5 times larger that the Palm Jebel Ali. Originally, the design called for a 14km (8.7 mile) by 8.5km (5.3 mile) island with 41 fronds. Due to a substantial change in depth in the Persian Gulf the further out the island goes, the island was redesigned in May 2007. The project then became a 12.5km (7.76 mile) by 7.5km (4.66 mile) island with 18 larger fronds. It will be located alongside Deira.
By early October 2007, 20% of the island's reclamation was complete, with a total of 200 million cubic metres (7 billion cubic feet) of sand already used. Then in early April 2008, Nakheel announced that more than a quarter of the total area of the Palm Deira had been reclaimed. This amounted to 300 million cubic metres (10.6 billion cubic feet) of sand. Since the island is so large, it is being developed in several phases. The first one is the creation of Deira Island. This portion of the Palm will sit alongside the Deira Corniche between the entrance to Dubai Creek and Al Hamriya Port. Deira Island will act as "the gateway to The Palm Deira" and help to revitalize the aging area of Deira. By early April 2008, 80% of Deira Island Front's reclamation was complete.
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