Palm Deira blueprint unveiled

Three 12-lane bridges will connect mainland to the island development that will house more than one million.

Developers say it will take about 20 years to fully populate the Palm Deira. Above, the development's sales office.

DUBAI // The developer of Palm Deira yesterday laid out more of its plan for a development bigger than Manhattan island. Palm Deira, Nakheel's monumental project on reclaimed land, will be a city in itself, with commercial, office and residential buildings housing an estimated population of 1.3 million people, connected to the mainland by three 12-lane bridges. People who want to buy into the developers' dream will have to wait until December, when sales offices will open.

Nakheel is confident that keys to properties in the first phase of development could be handed over within three years. Over the next six months, the developer will say which hotels will open in Palm Deira. The development will add an estimated 226 kilometres of coastline to Dubai. It is destined to be the largest man-made island in the world, more than five times the size of Palm Jebel Ali. It will have trams and buses to ferry people around. And Nakheel, Dubai's largest developer, is ensuring that Palm Deira's buildings meet strict environmental standards.

"We have designed it in such a way that people can cycle or walk to where they want to go," said Gavin Boyd, the director of development. "If you look at Mall of the Emirates, the only access is by car or taxi. It will not all be residents. It is not going to happen immediately as it will take around 20 years to fully populate the place but there will be a transient population too that will be staying in the hotels," added Mr Boyd.

Abdulla bin Sulayem, operations director for the project, said heavy traffic on roads to Palm Deira should not cause difficulty. "As long as the infrastructure is in place, it will not be a problem," he said. "We are extremely pleased with the progress on all fronts and are delighted to report that we are running on schedule at Deira Island. Connecting the first phase of Palm Deira with existing Deira will stimulate and revitalise the oldest part of our city, increase real estate values and attract business to the area."

Unlike the two other palms on Dubai's coastline that were also developed by Nakheel, the Palm Deira will not have a "trunk", which will allow for better water flow. Instead they will be linked with roads at the end of each fond. "There will be a natural flow of water, therefore giving it a better circulation of water," said Mr Boyd. The bridges will connect Deira Island Front with mainland Deira between the mouth of Dubai Creek and Port Hamriya, Deira via Abu Baker al Siddique Road, and between Abu Hail Road and Omar Bin Khattab Road.

Foundations have been laid for the Abu Baker al Siddique Road bridge, which is scheduled to be finished in May 2009, with an access road to Deira Island to be completed by Nov 2008. [e-mail]