WATCH: Dredging kicks off to make luxury fern-shaped island

Dutch mammoth Jan De Nul has won the contract for the works, which have been ordered by Dubai Holding’s real estate arm Dubai Holding Real Estate through member Nakheel.

The Palm Jebel Ali project is very artistic and difficult to describe: 16 ‘fronds’ of a sandy fern-shaped island spanning an area of 13.4 kilometres will eventually have around 700 villas built along them, each having beachfront access on what will amount to a total of 91 kilometres of beachfront.

The first eight ’fronds’, according to various media, will be site-ready by the first quarter of 2025, and the entire scope of the project is expected to be completed in just over two years.

Jan De Nul’s specialised equipment will be deployed, including trailing suction hopper dredger Brunelleschi, which will have to dredge around 200 million m³ of sand.

To finish off the beaches, a special ‘sieve’ will be installed on Brunelleschi to lay down a 1m top level of sand ‘of the highest quality’.

There will also be a main road built to connect the man-made island to the city’s main motorway.

“We are proud to be able to continue this project and are delighted that Jan De Nul Group has played a key role in the construction of Palm Jebel Ali,” said Jan De Nul Area director Filip Morobé. “This project is a testament to the expertise of Jan De Nul Group, especially in the areas of dredging, rock protection and soil compaction.”

According to the Dubai newspaper The National, 700 villas have already been sold – each fetching between $5.4 million and $13.6 million, it quotes head of ^research at Mena Clobal Commercial Real Estate Matthew Green as saying.