Dubai’s World of Islands Is Sinking Into the Sea

An anonymous reader writes "Dubai's dubious building boom has spawned a new architecture of unparalleled excess — one needn't look further than the desert region's ski slope, refrigerated beach and proposed ice cube lodge to find proof. However as of late the emirate's blustery building pace has lost its muster, and the latest mega-project to go south is The World, an archipelago of manmade islands modeled after the seven continents that seems to have sprung a leak. According to a new report issued by a property tribunal, the crumbling series of ill-fated isles is sinking like Atlantis into the sea."

Comments

so that solves the question...

[Fusselwurm]

... which sprang to my mind when I first heard about "The World": "How do they make sure its not washed away?"
Seems they didnt.

Re:so that solves the question...

[petermgreen]

IIRC from watching programs on discovery (can't remember which one exactly) they build barriers out of rocks and/or interlocking concrete peices (not sure what they used on what project) to protect their various coastline extension projects (which is what these projects are primerally about, coastline means beachfront property and beachfront property is what rich tourists/expats want).

The thing is it's a difficult compromise, you don't want to shut out water movement completely because if you do that then the water will become dirty (and beachfront property on a dirty coastline isn't exactly attractive) but any water not shut out becomes a potential source of errosion.

Fitting

[sznupi]

Dubai as a whole seems to be largely a mirage... (which isn't particularly unusual of course; but this one is stronger than usual)

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html (really worth reading)

Re:Fitting

[snl2587]

(really worth reading)

I second that. Wow.

Re:Fitting

[RockDoctor]

(really worth reading)

I second that. Wow.

You sound as if that article contains something that is news to you? How so?

Or ... did you actually believe the bullshit that the advertising drones feed to the outside world?

Some of the most unpleasant months of my life I've spent working in Abu Dhabi and having to socialise with the dross that lives there as ex-pats. They're not all arseholes. But a majority are, and the minority seem to want to go along with it.

Welcome to the UAE, Shit-hole of the Universe.

Re:Fitting

[d6]

>> You sound as if that article contains something that is news to you? How so?

Not all of us have worked (or even been to) UAE.
So yeah, the article was a good read for me. Plenty of the content covers problems that have been reported elsewhere, but some of it was new to me and worth the read.

another vote in favour of reading it. thanks to GP for the link.

Re:Fitting

[RockDoctor]

I'll load the gun and hold the advertising shill's head still ; you put a cap between his (or her) eyes and we can retire in the knowledge of leaving the world a better place.

Pretty much any shill, for any business. A few advertising skeletons distributed in gibbets would be a good ... advert ...

OK, I'll go sharpen the edge of a keyboard and commit seppuku with it.

Old news

[Locke2005]

Matthew 7:26 & 7:27

Making the world a better place...?

[denzacar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gEjxzsVAE4

the ultra quick summary of why this is happening

[ILuvRamen]

Here's the summary I got from the hour long discovery channel special I saw on these islands a long time ago while they were being built: They built them out of sand....from the sea floor! I even told the person next to me while I was watching it that it wasn't going to work. Sand + water = bad.

voodoo doll

[Anonymous Coward]

The world is sinking into the sea? Sounds eerily prophetic if you ask me.