Special Features
Arabian Canal
Dubai’s latest mega-project, Arabian Canal, will be one of the world’s biggest and most expensive engineering feats, costing US$61 billion (about Dh224 billion). The giant project will be built in two parts - an US$11 billion, 75km canal which will snake from the Palm Jebel Ali to the Palm Jumeirah and a US$50 billion ‘city within a city’ that will cover 20,000 hectares along the canal’s southern flank.Developed by Limitless, the global real estate arm of Dubai World, the project will transform the arid terrain that stretches from the outskirts of New Dubai to Jebel Ali. Up to 150 metres wide and six metres deep, the canal will flow inland from Dubai Waterfront, passing to the east of the new Dubai World Central International Airport before turning back towards Palm Jumeirah.
The Arabian Canal will be the world’s longest man made canal. The excavation of the Arabian Canal has started near the Dubai Marina area flowing inland around the massive area for planned Jebel Ali International Airport and will wind its way to enter the sea once again at the outer end of Palm Jebel Ali. Dubai Waterfront Project forms the first phase of the larger Arabian Canal effort.
The Arabian Canal will give rise to some truly unbelievable developments even by Dubai property standards. The delta forms the base from which Dubai Waterfront will extend several kilometers out into the sea, far beyond Palm Jebel Ali. The Palm Jebel Ali will form about a fifth of the massive reclaimed component of the project.
The Dubai Waterfront took two years to plan and is bigger than Manhattan and Beirut in size. The first phase of the project will concentrate on building Madinat Al Arab, a downtown type metropolis.
