27 May 2008 AUD Engineering students had a rare opportunity to visit The World islands construction
site on May 26. The field trip was organized by the Civil Engineering Students Association (CESA). A total
of 20 students and 6 faculty members were introduced to the project by Robert Marinelli, Development
Manager of The World with real-estate mega developer, Nakheel. Marinelli discussed the infrastructure of
the islands, as well as the islands transportation plan. He also talked about environmental aspects,
including water flow through the breakwaters to ensure proper circulation. He explained that the price
of an island on The World will be between 40 and 80 million dollars, which is why many island-owners
are converting their islands to resorts.
Thuraya Amoury, Senior Development Executive with Nakheel presented an overview
about the company and its projects, which include The Palm Islands and Dubai Waterfront. She discussed
the idea of man-made islands as part of a vision by HH Sh
eikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum as part
of expanding Dubai's shoreline by more than 100 km.
AUD attendees were then taken to the project site, 5 km offshore, by boat. There, they witnessed one of the ships "rainbowing" the sand onto the sea surface to create one of the islands. The rainbowing technique has been utilized on this and earlier projects as an time effective and economic way for offshore island construction.