Palm Jumeirah: Building Material and Construction
Palm Jumeirah: Building Material and Construction
Palm Jumeirah: Building Material and Construction
Clients - Nakheel
● The Island’s; Breakwater & Beaches, Roads, Bridges & Tunnel, Monorail, Infrastructures (majority),
Landscape & Marinas: NAKHEEL; a semi-governmental Entity (previously part of Dubai Port Authority)
● The Trunk: Medium-rise Residential Component (multi-storey buildings); Private Ownership.
● The Trunk West: Medium-rise Beach Resort & Hotel Component (International Investors & Operator
● The Trunk: Nakheel Landmark Developments (Nakheel Tower, Nakheel Mall)
● The Fronds (14) : Low –rise Residential Component (Villas) ; Private Ownership
● The Crescent: more than twenty-five World Class Beach Resorts & Residences / International & Local
Investors / Operators
● Cooling Plants; Empower
● Sewage Pumping Stations & Treatment Plant, Storm Water & Drainage; Dubai Municipality.
MANAGEMENT INVOLVED
WSP WAS ASSIGNED FOR THE MANAGEMENT PURPOSE IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF PALM JUMEIRAH. THE FOLLOWING
SERVICES WERE PROVIDED BY THE FIRM.
● Bridges
● Roads
● Marine structures, both surface and sub-surface
● Utilities
● Power
● Water and wastewater facilities
● Vehicular and utility tunnels between The Palm and The
Crescent (breakwater).
Comprehensive Engineering and Program Management Services
● WSP provided the management skills and engineering expertise for the provision of infrastructure, both
visible and unseen, such as pipes and cables. This also included project management of the infrastructure
systems for moving and supporting the volume of tourists, day-trippers and workers that would populate
the Trunk.
● The Fronds and Crescent of The Palm Jumeirah Island Development. A state-of-the-art, ultra-modern urban
monorail transit system, with roomy air-conditioned trains and stations, augments the copious road
arrangements.
● Effective program control was essential so as not to delay third party developers including Nakheel’s
prestige clients, such as Atlantis. WSP delivered permanent vehicular access and carried all services from
spine to the Crescent ahead of schedule, ensuring no negative impact to Nakheel’s client relationships.
● WSP also worked closely with Nakheel to ensure that marine life in the area was protected during
construction.
USE OF CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
● Construction on the palm islands began in 2001. Divers surveyed the seabed and worke
rs constructed a crescent-shaped breakwater from blasted mountain rock. The Crescent
of Palm Jumeirah stands a little more than 13 feet above low tide sea level and sits in 34
feet of water at its deepest point.
● Sand, covered by an erosion-preventing water-permeable geotextile, makes up the
breakwater lowest layer. One-ton rocks cover the sand, and two layers of large rocks
weighing up to six tons each cap the structure. A "toe" placed by a floating crane sits
inside the Crescent. The breakwater also has two 328-foot openings on each side to
eliminate stagnation in the 16 narrow, deep channels. These gaps allow water to
completely circulate every 13 days.
● The palm islands themselves are constructed from sand dredged from the sea floor.
Palm Jumeirah is made from 3,257,212,970.389 cubic feet of ocean sand
vibro-compacted into place [source: The Palm Jumeirah]. Vibro-compaction increases the
density of loose sand by saturating it with jets of water and vibrating it with probes.
● To get the complex shape just right, designers and contractors use Differential Global
Positioning Systems (DGPS) to plot the palm and ensure the sand placement within 0.39
of an inch.
USE OF CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
● Powerful GPS support which provides precision and is handy in
irregular land reclamation. To insure that the island is in it s
required place and shape, 676 Km up in the space a Private
satellite was used. The shape of island is nearly curved
everywhere and it required pin point accuracy to shape it as a
palm tree, hence, GPS (Global Positioning System) was used
while pouring sand into the sea.
● LAYERS OF RUBBLE
- Huge rocks of irregular shape and size
- Provides rigidity to the wall
- It’s 7m in height
● Outer Armor
- The rocks are interlocked among themselves
1. Marine Works
● Rock Supply (Capacity of Quarries, Transport, Logistics, Safety, Quality Control)
-Supporting operational quarries with long term contracts and regular payments, engaging a fleet of new
trucks for transport, Safety patrolling and checks, Lab testing
-Sea-bed investigation campaigns, sailing routes selection, turbidity control, silt curtains
-Diverting the works to alternative locations when needed to maintain necessary offset between rock
works and reclamation works.
● Supervision of the 24/7 construction on progress
Several studies including modelling with changes to the location and size and orientation of the two
re-entrant channels on the Crescent.
2. Geotechnical Works
● Ground Improvement;
- Selection of most appropriate design and method of execution.
- Long technical discussions with specialist before confirming the Vibro-Compaction Technique.
- Coordination between the several Vibro-Compaction contractors working at the same time in the same areas.
- Daily coordination and micro site management.
● Areas with critical post-compaction results.
- Further treatment including a second round of Vibro or Inserting Stone Columns within reclaimed fill.
3. Logistics
● On the Island; limited free space / Access roads, Laydown areas, Labour Camp
● Main Land; Construction vehicles / Damage to public road-net & bridges, Accident
-Additional fees for using the public road net. Alternative longer routes assigned.
4. Other Challenges
● Accommodating the many changes introduced to the Master Plan during the
construction progress.
-Engaging a team of experts to assess and deal with the impact of Master Plan Changes.