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Ground improvement work on Palm Jebel Ali nearing completion

DUBAI — The Palm Jebel Ali is more than halfway through land compacting works that will give the island strength similar to that of mainland Dubai.

Nakheel, the developer of the Palm project, yesterday announced 55 per cent of ground improvement works on The Palm Jebel Ali had been completed using a technique known as vibrocompaction.

The process, which is performed with specially- designed vibrating probes, significantly increases the bearing capacity of the soil making it ready for construction and ensures that no subsidence of land can take place in the future.

Currently 18 vibroprobes are being used at The Palm Jebel Ali, each weighing approximately 2,600 kilogrammes and capable of up to 1,800 revolutions per minute, resulting in a force of 30 to 50 tonnes, according to a Nakheel statement.

“Vibrocompaction increases the soil bearing capacity of reclaimed land by around 80 per cent to create a land mass that is similar in strength to mainland Dubai,” according to the statement.

About 13,000 sq metres per day of The Palm Jebel Ali was being compacted and the entire 7.5km by 7.5km island was due to be completed at the end of March 2008.

The Palm Jebel Ali Managing Director, Marwan Al Qamzi, said the process ensured the strength of the island.

“What would normally take nature a period of more than 20 years to achieve can be accomplished in just a few months using vibrocompaction,” he said.

“The process ensures that the reclaimed land mass of The Palm Jebel Ali is strong enough to build buildings of significant height; it also ensures that the island will not move — there’s absolutely no chance that the island can sink,” he said.

With most of land reclamation work on The Palm Jebel Ali completed, Nakheel has already begun putting in place an infrastructure which will eventually support a population of more than 250,000 people.

The Palm Jebel Ali is expected to host a population of 1.7 million by 2020.