Plans to Create A New City Maninat Al Arab by linking Palm Jebel Ali with Dubai Waterfront unveiled

04/05/06

By Fuad Ali, Staff Reporter Gulf News

Dubai: Two of the world's most ambitious waterfront projects are to be incorporated into one and benefit from new enhanced plans, it was announced.

Palm Jebel Ali, a huge residential development off the coast of Dubai, will now be managed and developed by Dubai Waterfront, an even larger city project in the surrounding Jebel Ali area. As a result, new plans have been unveiled to offer improved facilities and transportation links.

The announcements were made during a visit to the travel market by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The move, officials say, was an inevitable evolvement of initial plans aimed primarily at enhancing the project, both as an investment option and to raise the quality of life for the one million future residents and workers the developments are expected to attract.

Khalid Eisa Al Huraimel, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Waterfront, said the new improvements to the plans have been welcomed by Shaikh Mohammad who was 'very impressed' by the plans. "Recently Palm Jebel Ali has become part of Dubai Waterfront, so we looked at how we can better incorporate and bring together the two projects of Madinat Al Arab and the Palm so they can better complement each other," said Al Huraimel

'We've introduced some improvements which will add value to the investments already made as well as to the people who will live and/or work here. These include extending more canals to the city, widening canals, creating more boulevards and building a ring road which goes round the Palm and back into Madinat Al Arab'.

The Dubai Waterfront is said to be the largest water development of its kind in the world and includes the development of Madinat Al Arab which officials say will be a self-sustaining city.

Developers say that a lot of studies have been carried out on traffic and transportation to cut out potential traffic issues.

The city, they say, will have its own light-rail system linked to the Dubai metro.

Construction of the Palm Jebel Ali is due to end in 2009 with the rest of the waterfront project being ready in 10 to 15 years.