Palm Jebel Ali (نخلة جبل علي) an artificial archipelago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which began construction in October 2002 and which has been on hold since is supposed to be seeing some developments. You can see an updated satellite image that not much has happened and that there is a lot of sand sitting in the ocean waiting for villas, playgrounds, cafes and watersports.

The new master plan includes 80 hotels and resorts, and we hope they will follow the Estidama Pearl Rating System. The Pearl Rating System is a sustainable building code, like LEED, but which better suits the Middle East climate and culture. A project can receive One Pearl to Five Pearls depending on the total point-score a building project achieves. The scoring also gives a good overview of areas where improvements are needed and encourages sustainable management and operations.

The new master plan for the Palm Jebel Ali has been approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. The project, which is part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, is said to be one of a series of visionary projects being undertaken by master developer Nakheel. Investors from the 2002 days up until the market crash in 2008 are reported to be in limbo.

The new masterplan for the Palm Jebel Ali includes a number of new features, including a nature-inspired waterfront promenade, some fitness centers, various swimming pools,  children’s play areas, indoor gardens, as well as leisure facilities within each residential building.

The project is expected to be completed in 2027 and hopes to attract a wide range of residents, including families, professionals, and retirees. It is also expected to boost the local economy and create jobs. Some residents of the Palm Jumeira Islands report fetid water smells from lack of circulation around their private moat like island complex and wonder how these issues will be managed in the new iteration of the same concept.

In 2009 The Globe and Mail in Canada reported that “down by the docks, a noxious tide of toilet paper, raw sewage and chemical waste has turned the exclusive Jumeirah Beach – once a magnet for Westerners – into foul-smelling sludge. The pollution is bad enough to trigger typhoid and hepatitis in swimmers.”

We reported more problems with algae buildup back in 2010.

In 2018 thousands of dead fished washed ashore along with a strange foam. Artificial islands like the ones being built in Dubai are indeed playgrounds of the wealthy as the gates and moats offer seclusion and security from riffraff. But these hugely expensive projects have a negative impact on the planet: dredging destroys marine life, and natural erosion patterns of beaches and sand. A concrete base for the beaches is a tragedy.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum described in a tweet how this new destination comes as part of an ambitious plan to make the emirate “the most beautiful city in the world”.

“We announced our goal to double Dubai’s economy by 2033 and every day we add a new brick in building the most beautiful city in the world,” he said.

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“Through this mosque, we hope to inspire many more such eco-friendly initiatives that are in line with Dubai’s vision for a sustainable future,” Al Rais told Gulf News.

The massive mosque, which will accommodate 3,500 worshipers, aims to achieve silver certification within the American Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for green buildings. (Estidama’s Pearl Rating System – a green building rating system specific to the Gulf climate – only applies to projects in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.)

Mohammad Hassan, Investment Director at AMAF, said: “We have utilized latest green technologies…used water will be recycled and utilized in washrooms and for plant irrigation.”

The design incorporates LED lights, solar panels for exterior lighting and water heating, and energy saving taps to reduce water consumption.Sensors will control lighting and climate control systems according to prayer times and the number of occupants.

Building materials were selected based on thermal insulation performance to reduce heat transfer and to minimize the intensity of solar radiation streaming into the mosque. Exterior siteworks are underway, and the contract for granite works at the entrance of the mosque has been awarded.

Simple strategies that add up to smart building performance – something not often seen in Gulf projects where traditional energy sources are abundant and subsidized, and deep pockets can cover high operational costs.

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Rola questions – with good reason – whether Arab governments are sincere about sustainability. While certain of them such as Qatar and Abu Dhabi are making some effort to reconcile their fossil addiction, others continue to spend on profligate projects like Dubai’s destructive World Islands. Abu Dhabi, rated one of the world’s best cities, continues its baby steps towards a healthier, smarter Emirate but it remains to be seen whether their belated enlightenment will stay the worst that climate change has in store. In the meantime, hoorah for Estidama Pearls.

Similar to America’s Leadership in Energy And Environmental Design certification (LEED), which is not without its own challenges, the Estidama Pearl Rating system initiated by Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council aims to influence the sustainability of building projects throughout the Emirate.

Irina Foster, an American Assistant Project Manager for the consultancy firm Aecom, is among the first 186 architects, engineers, and urban designers qualified to develop a project underneath the Estidama umbrella as a Pearl Qualified Professional.

A detailed training program lasts two days, though it is also possible to achieve a shorter, more general module. To date, already 3,200 people have sought out the new sustainability training according to John Madden, the senior Planning Manager at UPC.

The National reports that Irina agreed to do the test despite her familiarity with LEED, since Estidama focuses on environmental concerns that are endemic to the Middle East – sparing water and energy in particular.

Other rating systems are also in the pipeline. By late spring, a construction rating system will attempt to reduce the impact of actual building and ensure that buildings are actually built according to plan. In addition, this new system will encourage less waste generation and recycling that which is wasted. Ensuring more efficient fixtures and installation is also a part of the sustainability game.

In order to monitor the implementation of these less harmful environmental practices, municipal inspectorss, developers and contractors need to be trained. They will also learn to implement operation ratings system for buildings that manage efficiency and general energy-saving maintenance.

Rating systems operate as a sort of checks and balances, according to the paper, that ensure that the plans – from design to construction to operation – are actually met. 

:: The National

More on Green Building in the Middle East:

Abu Dhabit Building to Achieve all Five Green Building Pearls

Green Building in Iran: The “Bagdir Windcatchers of Yadz

Israel’s “Living Building” In Jerusalem Grows with the Seasons

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