Local developer Nakheel has approached contractors to complete the reclamation works for the Palm Jebel Ali in Dubai.

The Palm Jebel Ali is about three times larger than the Palm Jumeirah. It significantly increases the amount of waterfront land available for development in Dubai. Based on the experience of Palm Jumeirah, it could take about 20 years to be considered fully developed.

Nakheel has publicly stated its waterfront ambitions. In November 2022, it secured AED17bn ($4.6bn) in funding that it said would be utilised to accelerate the development of its new projects, including Dubai Islands and other large waterfront projects.

The planned dredging contract is expected to involve 5-6 million cubic metres of material that will be used to complete the man-made offshore island, which is located to the south of Jebel Ali Freezone.

Reclamation work for Palm Jebel Ali is largely complete. In 2006, the Nakheel executive chairman at the time, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, told MEED: “Major reclamation on Palm Jebel Ali is 95 per cent completed, with the remaining 5 per cent due for completion in the coming weeks. Construction of the breakwater, which surrounds the island, is 98 per cent completed.”

The project was put on hold in 2009 before the reclamation work was finished. From satellite imagery, it can be seen that three of the fronds that make up the island have not been completed.

The offshore island’s initial dredging and reclamation work was mostly completed before the project was put on hold. The original contractor for those works was Belgium’s Jan de Nul.

Some infrastructure work on the island has also been completed. The South Korean contractor Samsung C+T was awarded an estimated $350m contract to build bridges on the man-made island in 2007. Work on the project was halted in 2009. Work restarted in 2011 and Samsung completed two bridges located on the north of the island.