Reclamation work on the The Palm, Jumeirah - one of the two giant manmade islands being created just 5 km off Dubai's shores - is expected to be completed towards the end of this year with 83 per cent of the rock and sand already in place.

Reclamation is also progressing well on the second of the twin islands, The Palm, Jebel Ali.

The Palm has fast become an icon of Dubai with the project creating the world's two largest man-made islands. The two palmtree-shaped islands are expected to enhance the city's position as a premier global tourist destination.

The multi-billion-dollar resort will be built in the shape of 17 huge fronds surrounded by 12 km of protective 200-m-wide barrier reefs, adding 120 km of sandy beaches to the emirate's coastline.

All fronds, plus the crescent and trunk, are in place underwater on The Palm, Jumeirah and the majority is also raised 3 m above the water.

Around 10 dredgers of varying sizes, 10 assorted barges, five tugboats and a variety of other vessels are deployed at the sites and a dedicated workforce of 1,014 is operating on The Palm, Jumeirah, while 208 workers are engaged on The Palm, Jebel Ali.

The land reclamation and dredging contractor on The Palm, Jumeirah is Van Oord ACZ Marine Contractors Gulf while that on the The Palm, Jebel Ali is China Railway & Engineering Corporation.

Both islands will be built in three phases -reclamation, infrastructure construction and buildings construction. They will each take approximately five years to be completed. The Palm, Jumeirah is expected to open by early 2006 with The Palm, Jebel Ali targeted for occupation approximately 18 months later.

Each of the islands will have an East and a West Marina and nestled between these two marinas will be a yacht club, extensive retail outlets and two hotels.

The four marinas will be capable of berthing several hundred boats. In addition, the marinas will boast luxurious amenities and innovative marine architecture. The marinas will be open for both homeport and visiting vessels and are expected to become a key destination for international recreational boaters.

The first deal to build a hotel on one of marinas was announced in the latter half of last year by Innpro International. Innpro's development - which will be located on the West marina of The Palm, Jumeirah - is expected to cost in the vicinity of Dh1 billion ($272 million) to build and will cover in excess of 200,000 sq ft.

In addition to the four marinas several smaller marinas will be scattered around the islands for hospitality and residential use.

Plans are in place to begin building model villas on the top two fronds of The Palm, Jumeirah.

The Palm is reported to have received more than 80 hotel investment plans from around the world.

Notably, the Kuwaiti consortium International Financial Advisers (IFA) has invested in two projects on The Palm, Jumeirah: a $100 million project and another $45 million scheme to build a 1,200-room luxury resort, on 92,000 sq m of land, under three phases.

Dubai-based firms have also taken up property on The Palm, Jumeirah.

The Belhoul Group will invest $100 million on a health therapy resort on the island and has signed a contract for a 20,000 sq m plot on the island. The group is in talks with two organisations involved in health tourism - one from Europe and the other from America - to manage the resort.

The Al Habtoor Group also intends to build a new property on the island.

The hotels on The Palm, Jumeirah will each feature a combination of a country theme and a style of guest experience, ensuring the development provides a unique form of escape tourism just off the Dubai coast.

With up to 6,500 residents and thousands of tourists residing on each of the islands, a state-of-the-art marine transport system has been planned to service the islands. It is envisaged that water taxi services and hovercraft will be utilised among other forms of marine transport to transfer staff, residents, tourists and goods to each island as well as between The Palm, Jumeirah and The Palm, Jebel Ali.

A 300-m bridge will also connect each island to the mainland.

The creation of The Palm is a project of grand proportions. Each island - comprised of approximately 100 million cu m of rock and sand - will eventually support 50 luxury hotels, 2,500 exclusive residential beachside villas, up to 2,400 shoreline apartments, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas, cinemas as well as the two marinas.

Construction began in June 2001 after many years of research and planning.

The Palm now has a dedicated sales centre in Dubai, located on the oceanfront - across from Dubai Media City. This centre strategically marks the entrance to The Palm, Jumeirah.