The World (archipelago)

The World Islands (Dubai)

View of The World in 2010
Geography
Location	United Arab Emirates
Coordinates	25°13′00″N 55°10′00″E / 25.21667°N 55.16667°E / 25.21667; 55.16667
Archipelago	The World
Length	9 km (5.6 mi)
Width	6 km (3.7 mi)
Administration
United Arab Emirates

The World Islands (Arabic: جزر العالم; Juzur al-Ālam) are an archipelago of small artificial islands constructed in the shape of a world map, located in the waters of the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.^[1] The World Islands are composed mainly of sand dredged from Dubai's shallow coastal waters, and are one of several artificial island developments in Dubai.^[1] The World's developer is Nakheel Properties, and the project was originally conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. The construction was done by two Dutch (joint venture) specialist companies, Van Oord and Boskalis. The same companies also created the Palm Jumeirah.

Construction of the 300 islands began in 2003, before being halted due to the financial crisis of 2007–2008.^[2] Though 60% of the islands were sold to private contractors in 2008, development on most of the islands has not started.^[3] As of July 2012, Lebanon Island was developed and was the only island that had so far been developed commercially, being used for private corporate events and public parties. As of late 2013, only two of the islands had been developed. In January 2014, Kleindienst Group announced the launch of "The Heart of Europe" project;^[4] by February 2014, JK Properties, one of Kleindienst Group's brands, announced that the project was "well underway".^[5] The first of these series of islands will be Europe, Sweden and Germany with development led by Kleindienst Group.