Hotels, apartments and villas are to be built on the islands. The World development is located in the coastal waters of Dubai, 4km off shore from Jumeirah beach, approximately 15km southwest of Dubai city centre. Apart from the reclamation, the scope of work also include construction of a number of huge breakwaters - with a total length of approximately 25km - which will be the largest breakwaters ever built, incorporating a total of some 30 million tonnes of rock. The reclamation project will require some 300 million cubic metres of sand, for which 10 trailing suction hopper dredgers have been mobilised to the Dubai area, ranging in size from 3,500 to 23,000m 3. While the island representing the UAE was the first to break the surface of the Arabian Gulf in March, earlier this year, several other land masses in the project have since been reclaimed or currently are in various stages of completion.

'With several land masses in the geographic area comprising Eurasia and North America having already emerged above water, the entire development has clearly begun to take shape, ' said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Nakheel. 'In addition to two completed islands, work is rapidly progressing on all the continents.

Construction of the main protective breakwater is well underway too, ' he added.

Each of the islands in The World is being reclaimed from a depth of up to -16m below the water's surface, and will be further developed to a height of +3m above water, as dredging work continues.

'The World is a very original and very ambitious project with very challenging deadlines, to say the least. I am pleased to report that not only is Nakheel well on course to meet these deadlines, but also, that in many instances, we are ahead of them. Every week sees the achievement of new milestones in the development of this unique project, ' said Sulayem.

The design of The World incorporates a cluster of 300 man-made islands strategically positioned to form the shape of the world map, with a protective breakwater on its perimeters.

While the leeward breakwater is designed as a submerged reef, the main or 'shamal' breakwater will be raised above water, with both offering protection from long and cross shore waves. Shelter provided by these breakwaters will also attract and retain a wealth of marine life.

The reclamation development of The World is estimated at US$ 2 billion, and is located four kilometres offshore from Dubai, at a point halfway between The Palm - Jumeirah and Port Rashid.