The World



If I'm going to mention big things in Dubai, I should mention The World, an artificial archipelago that's under construction just down the coast from the Burj al-Arab. Here's the official website, wikipedia entry here. Each island is between 5 and 20 acres in size with prices ranging from $15-$45 million. As you can see, there are plenty of islands still available.
I don't know that I would buy one (even if I was insanely rich enough to do so) as I don't really need the 'exclusivity' that this is really based on. Still, what a cool idea! The sheer amount of engineering here is quite impressive. Wonder how long it'll be before someone does something like this off the coast of California.
Given what's left...I think I'd take Sri Lanka.

Comments

Hans said…
This area doesn't get much violent weather, so it makes it ideal for building a place like this. California doesn't (usually) get hurricanes or anything, but it can be kind of rough. I really don't know where you'd want to build one of these things if you wanted to build in the US. Maybe on the Gulf Coast of Florida if you could get past the hurricanes. Pretty amazing, though, huh?
9:26 AM
Steve said…
Amazing what can be done when oil is over $60 per barrel...

It looks like the closest island to Minnesota is sold, but I think I'll try for the waiting list while I start saving my $15M. Just think, I could live in Minnesota and have a private tropical beach. Best of both worlds.
1:29 PM
Peder said…
Hans, I thought about the Gulf coast but figured the hurricane threat would probably nix that. Now I'm wondering if that wouldn't be such a big deal. If they're building the islands from scratch maybe they can storm proof them somehow. Sand berms and deep pylons or something like that.
Steve, just remember my invite when you buy that island, ok?
10:49 PM
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