Dubai,February 04 :This is how the world looks like according to ambitious engineers in Dubai, but it is starting to look ragged around the edges.
The stunning image of the man- made archipelago was taken by an astronaut far above our Earth on the International Space Station.
It shows the World Islands development sitting in shallow waters just off Dubai’s coast.
When the project was launched in 2003, it was hoped that celebrities and the super- rich would snap up the 300 islands, which made up a map of the globe. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt spent large amount of money buying an artificial island belonging to Dubai World Islands.
Nakheel Properties created the foundations within five years — from 11 billion cubic feet of sand and 47 million tonnes of rock. However, now it looks like the project will never be completed.
According to Nasa’s Earth Observatory website: “ Little to no infrastructure development of the World is apparent in this astronaut photograph.” Work inside the man- made lagoon stopped last year and the World Islands’ website went quiet. The last update is from October 1, 2008, announcing the completion of the foundations.
Last November, Dubai World, which owns Nakheel Properties, asked for a delay to repay $ 26 billion in debt. Officially the project has just been delayed, but the islands are rapidly merging together and appear to be sinking.
There is hardly better news for the Palm Jumeirah.
A number of hotel developers, including Donald Trump, have shelved their developments on the Palm due to recession.
Dubai’s development has been criticised by environmentalists, who say the construction of artificial islands hurts coral reefs and even shifts water currents.
The image was captured on January 13 by a member of the ISS Expedition 22 crew. He used a Nikon D2Xs digital camera with a focal length of 400 mm to take the photograph. It was then enhanced to improve contrast.
Astronauts are asked to take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public.
This seems particularly appropriate considering the huge public interest in what could be Dubai’s greatest folly.