Dubai's Palm Island - Megastructures - National Geographic Documentary

An awe-inspiring engineering feat, Dubai Palm Islands is definitely the largest artificial islands on earth. These Islands are three man made islands in the form of massive palm trees connected to the beaches of Dubai. The first island is the Palm Jumeirah, Jebel Ali Palm second and the third is the Palm Deira which is the biggest of them all. This artificial archipelago located off the coastline of United Arab Emirates in Persian Gulf.

Dubai islands project was commissioned by Sheikh Mohammed in an effort to maximize beachfront property. Dubai's palm tree-shaped resort island on land built from the sea will contribute 120 km of beaches. Aside from the construction of the ambitious expansion, there is also the problem of constructing a mini city, which consists of 4,500 high-end residential homes, miles of roads, luxurious hotels and many amenities that will require basic human resources including electricity, safe drinking water and many more. This enormous project will position Dubai as one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

I will tell you why these islands have appeared and that they must satisfy. Dubai is an emirate that open sea about 50 km (an estimate) and the sites required for building projects are on the beach. To view course and especially to "park" in front of the yacht's property or even assembly.
Well when the beach was not available, and demand persists, the beach had invented. And it appeared artificial islands. Hence so sophisticated forms of the islands: they had to provide a larger opening to the ocean.
This new concept quickly caught on. 'Only a' product 'high-end, the latest wrinkle in the most creative developers metropolis. A new source of land, location of the trick of the planet Earth! The job went, the two islands were settled immediately, with mixed development, spectacular, exorbitant, and finally in Dubai's specific style ... In parallel to the World archipelago started building and other projects are still on the drawing board Nakheel, developer. But crisis compels us to winter a little ...

Where is the dream of similar islands: In Lebanon, wants to build a cedar shaped islands, the symbol of this country. Russia wants to try an island / an archipelago in Black in Sochi at the 2014 Olympics, at least that is speaking through the past years. Also in Japan there are several large airports built on artificial islands.

The Palm Islands are artificial peninsulas constructed of sand dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf by the Belgian company Jan De Nul and the Dutch company Van Oord.
The sand is sprayed by the dredging ships, which are guided by DGPS, onto the required area in a process known as rain-bowing because of the arcs in the air when the sand is sprayed. The outer edge of each Palm's encircling crescent is a large rock breakwater. The breakwater of the Palm Jumeirah has over seven million tons of rock.

Each rock was placed individually by a crane, signed off by a diver and given a GPS coordinate. The Jan De Nul Group started working on the Palm Jebel Ali in 2002 and had finished by the end of 2006. The reclamation project for the Palm Jebel Ali includes the creation of a four-kilometre-long peninsula, protected by a 200-metre-wide, seventeen-kilometre long circular breakwater.

210,000,000 m3 of rock, sand and limestone were reclaimed (partly originating from the Jebel Ali Entrance Channel dredging works). There are approximately 10,000,000 cubic metres of rocks in the slope protection works.
The Palm Islands are an artificial archipelago (islands) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Major commercial and residential infrastructures will be constructed by Nakheel Properties, a property developer in The UAE. The Belgian and Dutch dredging and marine contractors, Jan De Nul and Van Oord, some of the world's specialists in land reclamation, were hired to complete construction. The islands are the Palm Jumeirah, the Palm Jebel Ali and the Palm Deira.

Each settlement will be in the shape of a palm tree, topped with a crescent. The settlements will have a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment centers. The Palm Islands are located off the coast of The UAE in the Persian Gulf and will add 520 kilometers of beaches to the city of Dubai.

The first two islands will comprise of approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. The Palm Deira will be composed of approximately one billion cubic meters of rock and sand. All materials will be quarried in The UAE. Among the three islands, there will be over 100 luxury hotels, exclusive residential beach side villas and apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities and health spas.

The creation of the Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001. Shortly after, the Palm Jebel Ali was announced and reclamation work began. The Palm Deira is planned to have a surface area of 46.35 square kilometers and was announced for development in October 2004.

Stretching 5.5 kilometers into the Arabian Gulf lies the most audacious engineering project the world has ever seen.

Palm Jumeirah is so vast, it can be seen from space.

Built only from sand and rock,

threatened by earthquakes, violent storms,

and erosion from the sea, it's remarkable that Palm Jumeirah exists at all.

"If God had wanted an island in the shape of a palm tree in the ocean, he would have put one here."

Engineers must race against time and battle constantly with the forces of nature.

This is a mega structure they thought could never be built.

August, 2001, the Arabian Gulf is a mass of activity.

Dubai is building one of the biggest manmade islands in the world.

Engineers have a daunting task ahead of them, because this is a construction like no other.

All structures stand in defiance of nature.

Most are built from concrete and steel - materials that are artificially strengthened.

But this massive island is being constructed out at sea,

using only natural materials - sand and rock.

Both start eroding the moment they hit the water.

For Project Manager Bob Berger, it's a daunting task.

"Any construction is in defiance to nature. And this is an extreme example of that.

Every day, we're trying to prevent the destruction of what we build."

The Middle East, Dubai, the jewel of the Arab world, a kingdom built on the profits of its oil reserves,

...this tiny emirate twice the size of London is one of the richest places in the Arab world.

But it hasn't always been like this.

50 years ago, Dubai was a trading town built on a creek.

Over half a century later, it's being transformed.

Now it's famous for gold, trade, and oil.

But there's a problem on the horizon.

By 2016, the oil will have run out. It will mean disaster for the economy.

Dubai must find a new source of income.

The crowned prince, Sheik Mohammad Ben Rashid Al Maktoum, has a $2 billion plan to save his country.

He's ordered his kingdom to transform itself into the world's number one luxury tourist destination.

and the crowned prince has a history of getting what he wants.

To put Dubai on the map, he's already built one of the most luxurious hotels in the world - the Burj Al Arab,

created top class golf and race courses,and is planning the world's tallest building.

But now, the crowned prince's big idea is mass tourism.

Dubai seems the perfect spot.

It offers sun almost every day of the year, glorious beaches, and azure seas.

5 million tourists visit here annually. Now they want to triple this to 15 million.

But there's a problem.

The coastline is a mere 72 kilometers long - not enough space for all these extra people.

But how do you make your coastline longer?

The crowned prince's plan is to build a massive island.

And he wants it done by 2006.

This daunting task holds a Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.

Starting with a blank piece of paper, he draws a circular island.

He's delighted. It increases the coastline by 7 kilometers.

But for the crowned prince, it's nowhere near enough.

"He looked at it. It was a circular island, which gave us about seven kilometers of beaches. And he said, why not 70 kilometers?"

It's back to the drawing board.

This time the crowned prince works on the design himself, pulling it about to increase the beachfront.

Nothing seems right.

But then, he comes up with an audacious plan.

What better for a paradise island than the shape of a palm tree?

5.5 kilometers across, it increases the coastline by a whopping 56 kilometers -

- nine times more beach front than the circular island.

But no one has ever built an island this size and shape before.

"When I first heard of this project, I couldn't believe it.

I thought it's incredible."

The extraordinary plan is to build a city at sea.

The Palm will be covered with luxury villas, shopping malls and restaurants.

The crescent shaped quarter linked to the Palm by a tunnel will hold 22 hotels.

The easiest way to build such a massive structure at sea is to use concrete and steel.

But this doesn't fit with the crowned prince's plans.

His idea creates an added challenge.

To blend in with its surroundings, the island must be made entirely from natural materials.

The palm-shaped island will only be made from sand -

94 million cubic meters of it.

All that protects this from the sea will be a breakwater, 5.5 million cubic meters of rock.

Together, there's enough sand and rock to build a 2.5 meter high wall circling the entire world.

"This may be the only place in the world where something like this can be done -

to have the vision and then the courage to carry it through."

To make this audacious plan a reality, Dubai needs the best engineers on the planet.

A worldwide search leads to northern Europe and Holland.

Experts in land reclamation, the Dutch have increased Holland's land mass by 35 percent.

The Dutch team are immediately booked for the job.

The first thing they must prove is that it's possible to build an island out in the ...

...Arabian Gulf, and that it will stay there.

They know the only way to keep the island in position is to surround it by breakwater.

But just how big does this sea defense need to be?

To find out, researchers must calculate the strength of Dubai storms, the height of the waves and tidal surges, ...

...and what effect global warming will have in raising the sea level.

The biggest fear for all coastal engineers are massive freak waves.

These waves build up over large distances, pushed by persistent winds and large currents.

They destroy nearly everything in their path.

But the island builders are lucky.

The research teams worked out that the Arabian Gulf is the perfect place to build this mega structure.

On average, the gulf is only 30 meters deep, and it's only 160 kilometers wide.

It's too short and too shallow for catastrophic waves to build up.

But the team know they will get shamal storms.

Every winter, these intense northerly storms bring high winds and two-meter waves that will batter the structure.

Researchers must also factor in the worst case scenario - the storm that hits once in a hundred years.

The team do the final calculations.

To protect this fragile island, the breakwater must be at least three meters high above the waves, and 11.5 kilometers long.

But just when the engineers thought they were ahead, they're given another challenge.

The developers in charge of this mega structure want to start construction immediately - before the research is complete.

It's a huge gamble that could come back to bite them.

If they haven't got it right, the whole structure might be washed away.

As well as starting before they're ready, the engineers must perform a miracle.

Normally, a project like this would take 15 years to build.

But they must do it in five.

Before work can begin, the engineers must first work out just where this awesome creation should be built.

The job falls to one man - Project Manager Bob Berger.

"Of course one of the problems we have working in the sea is there's no place to put stakes.

We don't know where this project is going to go.

So what we did, we were requested by His Highness, Sheik Muhammed, to know where this island is going to be.

We marked off the center of our plot. I stood there, the very first one right in the edge of the water...

..my arms down the beach way, closed my eyes, this is my center line of the project.

An engineer put stakes in that line and that became the counterpoint of the entire project - just like that."

August, 2001, the breakwater construction team take to the sea.

They've only two years to build this massive 11.5 kilometer sea wall. But just as they get started, disaster strikes.

September 11, 2001. The World Trade Center in New York is attacked in a brutal act of terrorism.

Over night, tourism to the Middle East stops.

But work has already started on the Palm Island.

Will millions of dollars and months of research all be in vain?

September, 2001. In the wake of terrorist attacks in the United States, travel abroad halts abruptly.

Fear and panic spread.

People are too frightened to travel, particularly to the Middle East.

It could have disastrous consequences for Dubai's ambitious plans.

Work has already begun on building one of the biggest manmade structures in the world - a giant palm-shaped island that will transform Dubai into a world class holiday destination.

The massive 11.5 kilometer breakwater is under construction. Both the breakwater team and the Palm Island team are assembled to make the dream a reality.

But 911 froze the plans into turmoil. The 1200 foreign engineers fear their lives could be in danger.

They make contingency plans to leave the country.

In the meantime, they're advised not to go into western hotels and bars.

Business slumps.

Beaches are empty, restaurants deserted.

No one wants to be here.

For three months Dubai grinds to a halt.

The sun is setting on the Middle East's tourist industry.

But the job must carry on, whatever the political climate.

The oil reserves are running out. The crowned prince stands firm.

The developers are now committed to the build.

Millions of dollars have been spent hiring the world's top reclamation engineers.

They've worked on huge projects, like Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport...

...Holland's North Sea wall, and Singapore's Industrial Center.

But no one has reclaimed a structure this size or shape before.

By November, 2001, the race to build this mega structure is really under way.

Nine barges, 15 tug boats, four dredgers, 30 heavy land based machines, and 10 floating cranes are needed to construct the massive sea wall.

For the breakwater team, their first step in this awesome challenge

is to build up the sea floor.

Three massive dredgers take up a thin layer of sand from the barren seabed nearby.

Then they dump the sand in a layer up to 7.4 meters thick.

This must be done while the sea is at its calmest.

To keep it in place, barge loads of rubble are dropped on top of this.

This bed of rock will raise the breakwater from four meters below sea level to three meters above.

It's the beginning of the sea defense without which the island cannot exist.

The sloping layers take out the force of the waves as they hit the wall.

But the sand and rubble layer is only the base - the core of the breakwater.

What really creates the protection is the outer armor.

For this, engineers need vast lumps of rock.

Each piece of rock weighs up to six tons.

it's these massive boulders that will protect the fragile island from the destructive force of the sea.

But sourcing enough rock is an enormous task.

Excavation teams spring into action in 16 quarries across the United Arab Emirates.

the 11.5 kilometer breakwater needs a lot of rock - 5.5 million cubic meters of the stuff - enough to build two Egyptian pyramids.

Rock is blasted out of the mountains night and day.

Loaded on to dozens of rigs, it begins the arduous journey to the coast.

Here, the rocks are immediately piled on to barges and shipped straight to the construction site.

It takes less than 24 hours for each rock to travel from quarry to breakwater.

24/7, this floating conveyor belt delivers up to 40,000 tons of rock a day - nearly the same weight as two aircraft carriers.

The density, size, strength and permeability of each boulder is crucial.

This stone wall must last for centuries. There's no concrete or steel holding these rocks in place.

These vast boulders are not just dumped in position. Graded by size and weight, it's the sheer volume that keeps them here.

Positioned by cranes, each rock must interlock with the next to withstand the full force of the sea.

Constant checks are needed to ensure the breakwater is in the right place and the rocks are stable.

The only sure way to do this is to send in divers to pinpoint and check every meter of it.

Nothing about this mega structure is left to chance.

Any movement could cause the rock to crack, and the wall to disintegrate, leaving the whole project vulnerable.

A detailed study of the breakwater rocks below the water is noted.

Divers are looking for signs of fatigue on these six-ton boulders.

Their fear is that some will have splintered or been knocked out of place by strong waves when they were put here.

Every 27 meters, a diver surfaces to record the location of the rocks they're checking.

The reading is taken from a man based on land. But so far, this section of the breakwater stands firm.

January, 2002, six months after work began, a large section of breakwater stands proud 4.5 kilometers out at sea.

For everyone involved, it's an exciting time as the dream becomes reality.

"When the frst breakwater came up, of course we all went out there. We had to stand on it.

This tiny little precipice of rock in the middle of the ocean, and look back in to Dubai and say this is the beginnings of our job."

It's a momentous achievement for the team, but there's still over 10 kilometers of this vast sea wall to build.

The engineers are jubilant, but their happiness is short-lived.

Winter is closing in.

With a schedule of only two years to complete the breakwater, the last thing anyone needs is a delay.

Winter in the Middle East brings Shamals - great storms with winds of up to 56 kilometers per hour.

Wind shifts are sudden, whipping up the sea, bringing torrential rain...

..violent thunderstorms...

..or blinding dust storms.

On land, little can move.

Out at sea, things are even worse.

Massive waves batter the boats that need dead, calm water to place the sand and rock with pinpoint accuracy.

"We had to seek shelter in the very little shelter that we had built."

Engineers planned for the bad weather, but the storms of March, 2002 were worse than they feared.

"Everybody crowding around trying to protect themselves from the storms."

The boats find shelter. But more worrying, will the breakwater hold?

It's a nail biting time. Over the next three weeks, the storms are relentless.

All the engineers can do is watch and wait.

The breakwater stands firm, but the schedule is slipping.

The construction team is three weeks behind and the pressure is immense. Every second counts.

It's vital that the fragile sand island has protection.

Only when a 550 meter long section of breakwater is built can the Palm Island begin to rise above the sea.

But the schedule is desperately tight.

The entire mega structure must be complete by 2006.

They have 2.5 years to create the island and breakwater, and just two years to build the city on it.

The only way to meet the deadline is for both the breakwater and the island to be built at the same time.

It's not an ideal situation. It will mean that throughout the build, the Palm Island will have the bare minimum of protection from the sea.

But the engineers have no choice. The deadline is set.

While the second team building the island wait for the protective breakwater to be built, they keep ahead of schedule by laying the sand foundations below the sea level.

But now, eight months after construction began, they are desperate to break the surface.

Finally April, 2002, the first 550 meter section of the breakwater rises three meters above the sea.

At last, the builders of the Palm can step up the action and bring the island above sea level for the first time.

To complete this massive island, Team Two has the awesome task of finding 94 million cubic meters of sand to create their island -

- enough to cover the whole of Manhattan one meter deep.

It's an enormous job in itself. But finding the right sand is an added headache.

Dubai has more sand than it could ever need.

But there's a problem. Desert sand is the wrong material for the job.

It's too fine. The particles won't cling together.

It means that the vast sand island would simply wash away.

The engineers must look elsewhere.

The best sand for the job is found six nautical miles out at sea.

This sand is much more suitable. It's coarse, packed densely, and is more resistant to wave impact.

They will dredge sand from the Gulf seabed.

And there is an added benefit. The dredgers will spend less time transporting the material to the construction site.

In just three hours, a dredger travels to and from the site, scoops up the sand, and sprays it into position.

It works a 5 square kilometer area, dredging up the top meter of the sea floor.

It takes less than an hour to fill the 8000 ton tank with sand.

The sand is then pumped through a pipe and sprayed in to place at ten meters per second -

- enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool in four minutes.

The process is called "rainbowing." the island construction team work around the clock to keep to the tight schedule.

Night and day, the island grows bit by bit. The rainbowed sand builds into a sand bar, rising up to four meters out of the water.

But for the engineers, there are mixed feelings.

Is the shape of the island progressing as planned?

"There is great excitement, and there is great anticipation, and a little bit of fear.

Is it in the right place?"

With doubt cast over the construction, Dubai has a trick up its sleeve.

676 kilometers up in space, Dubai has access to the only privately owned satellite in the world.

It's so powerful, it rivals those of the Russian and US military.

The satellite, IKONOS, orbits the earth, taking pictures that prove the island is totally on track so far.

It also means the crowned prince can keep a close eye on his pet project.

August, 2002, a year in and the island team is ahead of schedule.

Eight kilometers of the breakwater stands firm.

Eight palm fronds break through the azure seas.

But it's a grueling and difficult process.

Rainbowing is a common operation in land reclamation.

But this is no ordinary reclamation project.

There is no mold for the palm shape, and no fixed points to get bearings from.

The unique shape makes it a nightmare to build because the whole design relies on accuracy.

This enormous structure has 56 kilometers of water front and almost all of it is curved.

To make things more difficult, it's impossible to tell from the ground if the sand is falling in the right place.

The only way to complete this task is to use state of the art technology.

"Prior to GPS, we couldn't have done this job.

There are only two straight lines in this project.

All the rest of them are curved."

It's all down to a team of five men who walk the perimeter of the island every day as it takes shape.

It's grueling work.

Summer temperatures reach a searing 48 degrees Celsius. Humidity is 95 percent.

With heavy packs strapped to their backs, these mobile receivers create a grid reference for the island.

Receiving signals from space and a fixed position on land, the height and position of the sand bars is recorded.

With these coordinates, dredgers can sail into the exact position and rainbow the sand with pinpoint accuracy.

Only by using state of the art GPS technology can this awesome mega structure take shape.

As the world watches, the Palm Island becomes a reality.

At the same time, faith in this tiny emirate is restored.

Post 911, Dubai emerges as a safe haven in the Middle East.

The beaches fill up again. Business resumes.

The crowned prince's gamble to continue construction has paid off.

But there is still a deadline to meet.

The island must be built by 2006.

Coordination between the two teams - one building the breakwater and the other reclaiming the sand island - is crucial.

If they don't work in perfect synchronicity, the whole project could be thrown into jeopardy.

"If the breakwater progressed too quickly, it would cut off access for the reclamation contractor.

If the reclamation went too quickly, then it would be at risk for the storms.

We couldn't let one get ahead of the other in any way."

It's a delicate balance. But a year into the project, and incredibly, work is on schedule.

Against all odds, the Palm Island rises above the waves, protected by the ever increasing sea wall.

It's a symbol of engineering achievement.

But the engineers' biggest challenge is still to come - how to make the island safe to build on.

The majestic Palm Island is only made from sand.

But sand is unstable, and highly susceptible to the movement of water around it.

It also takes time to settle before it's strong enough to build on.

But this awesome structure will support a city of 120,000 people.

And their safety relies on firm foundations.

This massive sand island must be made rock solid, but how?

October, 2002, Dubai is building the world's most audacious engineering project in the Arabian Gulf.

A 5.5 kilometer island in the shape of a palm tree, made entirely out of natural materials.

A year into the build, and two-thirds of the breakwater is complete.

Eight kilometers of massive rocks pile three meters above the waves, backed by 200 meters of beach that will eventually carry 22 hotels.

Behind this seed offense, the first nine palm fronds made of sand rise above the water.

Dredgers spray sand from the sea floor - a process called rainbowing - to create the first half of the 5.5 kilometer island.

But building a manmade structure in the middle of the sea with only rock and sand throws up challenges every step of the way.

The team constantly battle with nature as the sea erodes the work they do.

"We worried initially that we could actually do it -

- that we could place the sand where it should be, that we could place the rocks where they should be."

The teams now race to finish the project.

But then, the engineers discover a problem that could put the whole project in jeopardy.

The decision to start construction before completing the research has finally caught up with them.

The sea is not circulating around this massive mega structure as they planned.

The tides are not flushing the system properly.

Clean water is not moving fast enough around the inner waterway.

The water is in serious danger of becoming stagnant.

People have paid millions for a piece of this paradise island.

Green fetid water is not going to work.

A solution must be found, and fast.

Changes must be made to the design.

But all the time, the Palm Island is taking shape to the original plan.

Further tests surround the computer. Luckily, the solution is found just in time, and it's simple.

The seawall must have two breaks in it - two four-lane bridges link the section to the breakwater.

These two openings mean enough fresh flowing water can get into the system.

Twice a day, the tide enters the structure, pushing clean water around the fronds.

Over two weeks, the entire waterway is replenished.

But there is always a fear it may return.

Environmentalists now test the water every day to check the system is working.

The return of algae and stagnant water is something they can't allow.

With the water quality assured, the project is back on track.

Teams race to finish the structure.

Seven dredgers rainbow the sand, creating the last few palm fronds

Floating cranes lift the final rocks into place.

By August, 2003, the breakwater is complete.

An awesome 5.5 million cubic meters of rock now holds back the full force of the sea.

Two months later in October, the island reclamation is finished.

94 million cubic meters of sand have been pumped into the Arabian Gulf to create the perfect palm shape.

In just over two years, the Palm Island has finally risen from the sea.

The deadline has been met just on time, and phase one of this monumental engineering challenge has been accomplished.

There is still a very long way to go.

Phase one is only the completion of the foundations.

Now to fulfill the crowned prince's dream.

4500 houses and apartments, hotels and shopping malls must be built along the waterfront.

This sand island must support an entire city.

But here lies the next major problem.

Sand is not easy to build on.

because the sand has been sprayed into position, it's loose and uncompacted.

"We get the material for the islands dredged from the seabed, which means that all the fine materials are already cleansed from the sands.

You could drive on it within a couple hours after you reclaim it.

However, it's not satisfactory to build on."

But a strong base is vital to support this city at sea.

Before construction can start, engineers must find a way to compact the sand to make it firm.

In theory, the idea is simple.

"All we have to do, then, is compress the top layer.

As you can see when you press down, very little displacement, except straight down.

Nothing to the side. That gives us a firm surface to build on."

But in reality, the engineers are working with an area spread over 5 square kilometers.

Over time, the sand will compact naturally.

But this will take years, and time is something the engineers don't have.

Construction of the infrastructure must start immediately.

As if the schedule wasn't pressure enough, there's another more important reason why the foundations of this city must be made extra strong.

Dubai sits just on the edge of a major earthquake zone.

Bam, Iran, north of the Arabian Gulf, 5:26 AM, 26th of December, 2003...

..the town is hit by a quake measuring a massive 6.6 on the Richter scale.

In minutes, 60 percent of the buildings are leveled. 43,000 are dead...

20,000 injured, and 60,000 are homeless.

Following this, multiple quakes hit Dubai 480 kilometers across the Arabian Gulf.

It's a wake-up call to the Palm Island project.

If the epicenter hit Dubai, it could spell disaster.

"Should an earthquake come through the area, the sand might lose its cohesiveness down deep.

The reclamation process piles sand one grain upon another.

If we put the ocean around it, you see the island.

However, the lateral forces of an earthquake can make the island disappear."

This terrifying phenomenon is called "liquefaction."

It happens when a quake shakes the earth's surface, causing sand particles to move.

As the sand compacts, it pushes the water between the particles upwards, making the ground liquified.

It means the island would sink back into the sea.

This was terrifyingly evident in Kobe, Japan.

In 1995, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale rocks the city.

In seconds, the buildings are reduced to rubble.

But in the harbor, events are very different.

The force of the quake liquefies the reclaimed land the port is built on.

Harbor buildings and walls literally sink into the sea, causing nearly $7 billion of damage.

It's something they can't risk in Dubai.

Before any houses can be built, Palm Jumeirah must be made strong enough to prevent it from liquefaction.

The team work out they need to compact a layer of sand 12 meters deep - too deep to compact by normal road roller.

The only solution is a process called "vibro compaction."

January, 2004, 15 machines work around the clock to firm up the land.

Probes drill over 200,000 holes into the ground, across the surface of the island.

High pressure water and air drive each probe deep into the earth.

This shaft then vibrates, shaking the ground around it.

The earth is compacted. It's a tried and tested formula.

As the sand compacts and sinks, more sand is poured in until the area around the probes is rock solid.

It takes the team eight months to stabilize the 17 palm fronds, but it has to be done to ensure the safety of 120,000 people who will live and work here.

March, 2004, 2.5 years into the project, Palm Jumeirah is ready to become a building site.

Now thousands of trucks and cranes, tons of supplies, and 2000 laborers descend on the island.

This is the most complicated part of the project - the installation of the infrastructure.

Gas pipes, electricity cables, water supply, and buildings.

In two years, they must build an entire city at sea.

But have the developers set themselves a near impossible target?

January, 2005, one of the world's biggest manmade structures has reached a critical stage.

After two years, the island foundations rise out of the sea.

Now engineers turn their attention from sand and rock to concrete, glass, and steel.

They're building an entire city out at sea in just two years.

Nothing like this has ever been attempted before.

For Project Manager Scott Hutchinson, building the apartments is a massive logistical nightmare.

"I probably worked on three or four other billion-dollar projects before.

But this is without a doubt the biggest and the most complex that I've ever seen.

And I can't imagine other projects being any more complex than this."

850 buses ferry the 40,000-strong Asian workforce on and off the island in two 12-hour shifts.

They'll work in grueling temperatures of up to 48 degrees Celsius.

As well as thousands of people, millions of tons of concrete and steel are shipped in from around the world and driven on to the Palm.

51 different contractors build houses, roads, canals, shopping centers, sewage plants, and each part of the jigsaw must meet the next perfectly.

To stay on schedule, all the materials must arrive on site exactly on time, and they will go to any lengths if they don't.

"If material isn't showing up from overseas, you put somebody on a plane and fly the guy out there to get it done.

You don't wait, you don't sort of react, you just get out there and try to be proactive.

Because otherwise, a job this size never gets done."

Supply is not the only problem. installation of utilities and pipelines is a massive headache.

Miles and miles of gas and water pipelines need to be laid across many different parts of the construction site.

Mounir Haidar, head of the technical team, knows that on a job this size, a good plan is vital.

"It's not that there is no plan. There is a plan.

But you have to monitor and adjust this plan on a daily basis, because it changes every day."

Since the island's launch in 2001, it's changed beyond recognition.

originally, Palm Jumeirah was designed to house and service 60,000 people.

But by 2004, developers realized the public loved the idea so much, they doubled the capacity.

"Everybody's changing their requirements, and you have to learn to react very quickly to that.

And in Dubai, things move quickly."

The pressure is on.

Incredibly, when the Palm was first released to the public, all the houses sold in three days.

The most expensive go for $1.2 million. David Beckham and the England football team are amongst the owners.

Now three years on, the residents want to move in. There are over 1800 villas to build on the palm fronds -

- enough to stretch the Shanzelize in Paris 14 times.

The delivery date looms nearer, and many of the houses are still at ground level.

The schedule is slipping.

But the crowned prince has promised the world a luxury location by 2006.

The deadline must be met.

To add to the pressure, the design of the palm trunk gets more elaborate every year.

This 1.6 kilometer stretch will carry at least 8000 villa and apartment complexes,

220 shopping malls and restaurants, and the developers are still threatening more.

A new plan is the 36 story palm tower - more space for shops, restaurants, and 450 deluxe apartments.

But all this extra development comes at a price.

The deadline for the trunk has slipped to 2008.

"I guess one of the best parts about it is when you get frustrated of all the challenges and paperwork and meetings

and everything that goes with building a project like this, you come outside, you see the sunset,

you see the sea, and you really realize not only is it an amazing project, but it's an amazing setting."

But this awesome setting creates hidden problems for the engineers.

With Phase One complete, the island reclaimed, the Palm now faces its biggest enemy - the environment.

Nature will permanently try to destroy anything built in its way.

The bigger the mega structure, the bigger the problem.

From the start of construction, there has been one issue engineers know they will face - the problem of erosion.

All beaches are constantly affected by waves. But with a manmade island, the problem is exaggerated.

These beaches are not naturally replenished with sand from the sea.

If nature won't do it, someone has to. Otherwise, the whole island will be washed away.

Only now that the island is complete can they see the full extent of the problem.

Engineers have studied every meter of the Palm's 56 kilometer coastline, analyzing the effect the waves have on its shape.

The results show the sand is gradually being washed away in some places and built up further along the structure.

Left unchecked, the beaches will no longer be straight and paradise island will fail.

But the engineers are confident that through constant maintenance, they can keep the intricate palm shape.

Just when the developers think they've cracked the problem, an even bigger dilemma rears its head.

Beach erosion is also affecting the Dubai coastline on a much bigger scale.

Dubai is famous for its beautiful beaches. Could the success of the mega structure cause the mainland's downfall?

Normally, the currents evenly push the sand along the coastline, keeping the beach straight.

By building a massive structure so close to the shoreline, wave movement in the area has altered.

The current is changing the shape of the coastline.

In some places, sand is deposited, extending the beaches out to sea.

In others, the beach is eroded away.

And initial research shows some worrying facts.

In some places, the shoreline could be eroded by five to ten meters per year.

Eventually, it could destroy mainland resorts, property, and roads.

In time, the coastline will settle down.

Nature and the structure will learn to live with each other.

But this may take years.

In the meantime, the developers have bought a dredger.

This will suck up the sand where it has built up along the coast and deposit it in the areas suffering from erosion, returning the coastline to its original shape.

Dubai's beaches are safe for now.

The engineers are constantly working out how to tame nature's forces.

The erosion problem is under control.

But the threat to the project doesn't just come from the surface of the sea.

They now face a new dilemma beneath the waves.

How has this awesome mega structure impacted on the ecology of the area?

August, 2005, four years after the Palm project started, this audacious island stamps its mark on Dubai's coastline.

"This was the first step, a big step, in putting Dubai on the map."

But by pushing into unknown territory, building structures never built before, engineers face new problems all the time.

Since the Palm Island's conception, environmentalists have been convinced the building of this mega structure would destroy local marine life...

..ruining one of its greatest selling points - the azure seas it sits in.

For the developers, it's a problem they're constantly watching.

Every six weeks, divers check the waters.

Fish and corals are monitored and measured.

But fears that construction may have destroyed this underwater world appear unfounded so far.

In fact, this mega structure seems to be having the opposite effect.

Not only is the marine life unaffected by dredgers removing a meter-thick layer of sand, but the breakwater has created shelter for fish, and is attracting new species into the area.

Now the Palm developers are turning this to their advantage.

They plan to build the largest artificial reef in the world.

In June, 2004, two jet fighter planes were dropped to the sea floor for people to dive on. There are even plans to sink a red London double-decker bus.

In true Dubai style, they'll create something from nothing to rival the reefs of Australia, the Red Sea, and the Maldives.

Even before the Palm is finished, the crowned prince is inspired by its success.

Now he wants two more islands, each bigger than the last.

Palm Jebel Ali is one year into construction.

It's twice the size of the first, nearly 8 kilometers in diameter.

This is designed to be a tranquil island with 29 luxury hotels and an inner ring of water homes that spell out an Arabic poem scribed by the crowned prince himself.

Even bigger is Palm Deira.

Work has just started on this whopping 14 kilometer-long island that will support 500,000 people.

Although engineers have the confidence of knowing how to build these structures, they now have a more worrying problem.

Supply.

To raise this island from the sea will take 1,500 million cubic meters of sand.

15 times the amount needed to build the first island.

Could this outrageous structure fall at the first hurdle because of lack of materials?

Dredgers are driven further out to sea in search of enough suitable sand.

But the engineers are confident that their goals are achievable.

But just when they thought resources were stretched to the limit, the crowned prince has the most outrageous idea of them all.

To make Dubai the number one tourist destination, he wants to build The World.

Four kilometers out to sea, hundreds of small islands are being constructed.

Seen from the air, these islands will take the shape of the continents of the world.

It's an even more complicated structure to build than the Palm.

This is not one island, but 300, and each one is different, varying in size from 5 acres to 20.

The deadline for these exclusive private islands is 2007.

Arizona, Wyoming, France, and Australia are all up for sale.

They cost anything from $6 to $36 million dollars, and that's before anything is built on them.

But creating The World takes land reclamation to the limit.

This archipelago of sand bars covers an area almost 7 kilometers by 9.

Each island has to be built in exactly the right position to create the global look from space.

Any mistake and the whole design will be ruined.

The Palm Island put Dubai on the map.

Now The World puts the map on Dubai.

But have the developers gone too far?

Will the demand for property keep up with the escalating build?

Will the bubble burst?

So far, two of the Palm Islands are completely sold out.

A third of The World has been snapped up.

But this still leaves a lot up for sale.

But the developers are confident. They see no end to the demand.

Mega structures are the latest craze.

To top all plans, in January, 2005, they launched the Dubai Waterfront.

This claw-shaped landmass won't just stretch far out to sea.

It will also create 75 kilometers of waterfront stretching into the desert.

together, all these mega structures will extend the coastline of Dubai from 72 kilometers to a whopping 1500 -

- a 2,118 percent increase.

Meanwhile, the first Palm's construction team continues to meet the deadline of 2008.

But the island stands here in defiance of nature, proof that engineers can and will continually push the boundaries of engineering technology.

The Palm Island is truly an awesome mega structure.