The end of The World: Dubai island development sinks back into sea

The Daily Mail ^ | 1/24/2011 | DAILY MAIL REPORTER

[FromLori]

It exemplified the booming property market and ambition of Dubai’s entrepreneurs.

But after the global financial crisis led to the collapse of the emirate’s home-building market, a unique development known as ‘The World’ is reportedly facing Armageddon.

The project, a man-made archipelago designed to resemble a map of the planet, is facing disaster as its islands have begun sinking, a tribunal heard this week. The development, which sits a mile and a half from the mainland, is all but vacant after investors who bought up its ‘nations’ saw their finances collapse after the economic crash.

[katiedidit1]

Didn’t Trump and Simon Cowell purchase property in Dubai?

[FromLori]

I suppose the slaves won’t mind seeing this sink

The dark side of Dubai

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

[FromLori]

I’m not sure about them but I think Brangelina did.

[artificial intelligence]

How long is an artificial island suppose to last?

[pfflier]

The story claims "erosion and deterioration" which is probably a more proper context of what is happening to the artificial islands. Other articles on the subject have also cited erosion.

The use of the term "sinking" feeds the algoresters in their hysteria that the sea levels are rising due to the global warming scam.

[ncfool]

The should have had a Jewish engineer!

[King Moonracer]

Boy that Allah is a fickle demon...

[COBOL2Java]

How long is an artificial island suppose to last?

The ones in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel have been around since 1964.

[surfer]

They probably did...LOL!!!

[bigbob]

another big development project that is “under water”

[GonzoGOP]

How long is an artificial island suppose to last?

Quite a while if they are built properly. They will all settle somewhat. But if you do it right they can last for centuries. But if you skimp and don't pack the substrate properly they will rapidly sink back under the waves. Looks like someone cut corners or didn't do the geology work up front to properly estimate the proper amount of settling.

[PIF]

History or Discover had a show on the building of the Islands ... maybe they didn’t show it, but no mention was made, as I recall, of packing anything or geological substrate studies. They just dredged sand on top of sand until the islands were formed. It seemed they paid a lot more attention to shape than stability...

[GonzoGOP]

History or Discover had a show on the building of the Islands ... maybe they didn’t show it, but no mention was made, as I recall, of packing anything or geological substrate studies.

I can't believe anyone would spend that kind of money without a whole lot of geology up front. But then again the islands are sinking.

[Deaf Smith]

And so castles made of sand slips into the sea, eventually
...Jimi Hendrix

[Vigilanteman]

How long is an artificial island suppose to last?

It depends on a lot of things-- current, materials, engineering and placement. Japan has done a great job with artificial islands. Kansai International Airport is probably the model of artificial island engineering. It survived the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake with minimal damage. That being said, it wasn't cheap to build and is not cheap to maintain nor operate.

These projects can potentially make sense in a densely populated country like Japan, but only barely. They do not generally make sense in a desert kingdom such as the U.A.E. This helps explain why developers are more inclined to use glitter and gimmicks to promote the projects and less inclined to invest in top-notch engineering to make sure the artificial islands last.

FWIW, while Kansai International Airport may be the best known example of the Japanese expertise in building artificial islands, it is far from the only example. Port Island and Rokko Island are older and more commercially successful neighborhoods of Kobe which also successfully weathered the Great Hanshin Earthquake. That being said, neither were without problems during the big earthquake. Small sections of the islands needed reinforcement and additional landfill (due to a quicksand-like liquefaction in scattered places) after that earthquake. One can only imagine how a Dubai like development put together without the same type of engineering and construction expertise would have fared under similar circumstances.

[cradle of freedom]

Maybe it did have a Jewish engineer. Hehehe.

[naturalized]

Well, at least it’s not capsizing like Guam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZczIgVXjg&feature=player_embedded

[PIF]

When you’ve got millions to burn, what’s a failed project or two? Besides it adds to the Arab/muslim prestige thingy - all those rich and famous people buying in on the con. Bakshesh, you know.

[DManA]

Seems to me I read about settling problems there too.

while Kansai International Airport may be the best known example of the Japanese expertise in building artificial islands,

[certrtwngnut]

Maybe there are too many people on one side & it is tipping over. Islands do that you know.

[GonzoGOP]

all those rich and famous people buying in on the con. Bakshesh, you know.

Or the developer just ripped everyone off. When the French started to build the Panama canal they were able to get investors from all over the world. It didn't matter that their plan would never work or that the geology was completely against them. They were able to show dredges and steam shovels moving dirt so the investors kept thinking that everything was going to come up roses in the end. When the reality of the situation finally came out it collapsed the entire French and British economies.

The Americans did the geology that the French didn't and realized that in 1906 there wasn't enough explosives in the world to blast a path through the mountains. And that their was no way to plug up great tropical rivers in flood. So instead of the water level canal envisioned by the French we built a canal with locks and rather than trying to avoid the rivers the engineers used them to fill the upper basin.

Like all great engineering projects the geology of what is there now constrains what you can put there in the future. And no amount of government edicts or slick marketing can change that. Fortunately in this case it will just be a colossal waste of money. In many other cases where geology wasn't considered in the construction of dams and bridges people have paid with their lives instead of their wallets.

[marron]

On the Piers Morgan show, he interviewed a couple of guys who paid $50 million (dollars or pounds, don’t remember) for one of the islands. So, if its sinking, that would be an expensive problem.

[count-your-change]

At least until the checks clear the bank.

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

For some reason this just makes me chuckle. they’ll spend billions in petro dollars to keep this joke afloat.

[dfwgator]

The should have had a Jewish engineer!

Remember what happened to the Jewish Engineer in Schindler's List, when she told the Germans that the foundation wasn't laid correctly.

[Vigilanteman]

I think some settling is normal for a decade or two after the artificial island is built. A good engineer plans that into the design. Over time, the settling should diminish but it will never completely go away.

Engineering and design quality plays a major role.

Why do you suppose some parts of the Appian Way, built by the Romans more than two millennia ago, are still in use but some highways built by PennDOT need to be resurfaced every other year?

[yldstrk]

That is hilarious

[DManA]

After posting that I remembered a sci-chan show on the airport. I recall the terminal was designed with foundations that can be extended to accommodate slight subsidence and still stay level. That thing is a marvel of engineering excellence.

In defense of PennDOT, the Romans didn’t have to design for freeze/thaw cycles and salt.

[Reeses]

Based on Google Earth, south of the Bahamas and north of Cuba, the Atlantic ocean is extremely shallow for hundreds of miles, less than 5 feet deep in places. Could artificial land be created in international waters for about $50,000/acre in dredging? Probably not but it's fun to think about building a new country based on the USA’s original founding principles. It would be a mecca for doctors fleeing Obamacare, a half hour flight from Florida.

[Vigilanteman]

LOL! Nice pipe dream. I think you would get into an international law quagmire with countries trying to extend off-shore jurisdictions beyond and even 300 mile limits.

There was actually a case similar with a guy who bought up a World War II vintage anti-aircraft platform just outside the territorial waters of the United Kingdom and started his own country. I don't remember the name of the country or the details, but he did get it upheld in international court at one time.

[jda]

From personal experience, the abuses are all too common in all Arab countries - it’s a travesty and no one seems to care.

[marron]

I remember at one time they were pushing the idea of locating computer servers out there for encoded, anonymous internet service. Beyond the reach of any kind of warrant.