What went wrong in Dubai Palm Jumeirah?

Dubai called it “The Eighth Wonder”. The massive US$ 12 Billion showcase of Palm Jumeirah was a man-made archipelago in the Persian Gulf. Even from the space the Jumeirah was visible as a palm tree with trunks and fronds and definitely deserves its hubris. However the wonder did not last. Soon it became the “The Eighth Blunder”. What went wrong?

To build a huge rock & sand building over the sea, the developer of Dubai Palm Jumeirah had to do massive dredging and filling it up with huge amount of concrete fastened by rocks & sands brought from elsewhere. The first part caused dramatic ecological changes in that wave & sea erosion pattern making it go haywire. On the other hand, destruction of huge coral laden sea-shore caused the super structure somewhat unstable.

In order to prevent high waves lashing at the villas an outer breakwater of seven miles of length was built. This breakwater had additional purposes as well: to control sea current and to act as bulwark against “Shamal” winds originating from Iraq that blow across most of the Persian Gulf. By doing this the developer deprived the only source of cooling breeze that could rejuvenate the residents.

To tap it all sweltering heat & high humidity made life miserable to the residents. Without central air-conditioning installed residents who call themselves humorously as “prisoners” have to spend a wale of amount for air-conditioning.

Then there was another issue arose. Due to the functioning of breakwater, whatever water caught within the fronds started to stagnate and later gave nauseating stench. As an ad-hoc measure gaps were made over the break water but not without much avail.

Most pressing issue for the residents was the way housing intensity working against them. Originally only 2,500 villas were proposed to be built in the 16 fronds. Cost overlap due mainly to the miscalculation of per unit cost and the associated interest cost forced developer to increase the number of villas by another 1,500 making a total of 4,000 villas. Gone is the space between two units. The over-crowding had not only robbed the privacy of the residents as everyone can peer through his neighbour, but drained out the greenery that would have been there if sufficient landscape was made available.

Finally, the faulty supper structure was causing something unimaginable in this colossal venture. New York Times reported citing satellite scanning of the Palm Jumeirah that the whole edifice is sinking one-fifth of an inch per annum and expected to increase over the years.

For real estate development, business strategy dictates that an ECM study must be undertaken first. ECM is an acronym for economic, construction and marketing feasibility. Why developer of Dubai Palm Jumeirah ignored this, is the billion dollar question!

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist