Work on the first of two giant islands coming up just 5 km off the Dubai shore is on schedule, officials connected with the project said.

"Work on The Palm, Jumeirah is progressing well and we are on schedule," said Saif Al Shamsi, commercial managing director of The Palm, a mega project that was unveiled in May 2001.

"A substantial part of the reclamation of The Palm, Jumeirah has been completed. A working platform of 500 by 250 m on the Crescent Island has been established for some months," Shamsi said.

The giant palm tree-shaped resort island is rising up from the Gulf waters and the first island can already be seen from the shore. Round-the-clock operations involve 520 people, six dredgers, 15 barges, seven tug boats and an assortment of other vessels and equipment, he said.

Work on The Palm, Jumeirah is scheduled to be completed by September 2003.

Just a few kilometres down the road, work on another identical island, named The Palm, Jebel Ali will "begin soon and be completed... around June 2004".