Exclusive man-made island near Qatar 

An artificial island housing an exclusive residential development is to be built in the sea near Doha, the capital of Qatar. COWI was called on to advice on wave and sea current conditions and to design the coastal protection.
In two-and-a-half years’ time, the first of a projected 30,000 inhabitants will move into their luxury apartments on a newly built artificial island off the coast of Qatar, close to the capital Doha.

"Pearl of the Gulf", as this major development project is known, will see the creation of an entirely new neighbourhood complete with hotels, tourist attractions, marinas, luxury apartments and exclusive villas with access to wide open beaches – all built directly on the seabed. Qatar’s biggest private investment company, United Development Company (UDC), is behind the project.

Detailed studies

The island is approximately 5 km long and 3 km wide and is constructed by reclamation off the existing coast line and with access from the mainland over an embankment. COWI has developed hydrodynamic models showing the influence of the island on the natural conditions such as currents and waves. The studies have also included flushing of water through the canals and coves of the development as well as assessment of water quality aspects.

"It is a great challenge to design and later build a man-made island of this size because of the very large quantities of fill - about 15 mill. m3. Placed on a foot-ball field it would extend about 1.5 km into the sky," explains COWI project manger Erik Yding Andersen.

Detailed geotechnical investigations have been performed to determine the composition of the natural sea bed material. The purpose is to investigate whether the island can be safely built on the existing sea bed and further to find out whether the material gained from dredging of channels, canals and coves can be used directly as fill for the island reclamation.

"In addition, the island is designed so that the majority of villa plots have direct access to the sea. Consequently the island has a rather complex shape, which makes it difficult to establish beaches that will not wash away in stormy weather. Working closely with UDC, COWI’s engineers have come up with a solution that provides the necessary protection against erosion without compromising the quality of the beaches," says Erik Yding Andersen.

Artificial islands are popular

Construction work on "Pearl of the Gulf" get under way in April this year and the first private residences should be ready for occupancy in September 2006.

The project is one of several similar major construction projects in the Middle East involving the creation of luxurious artificial islands. COWI has also been involved in designing Durrah and Danaat Howar Island in Bahrain. Three other artificial island complexes are being developed off the coast of Dubai: two Palm Islands and The Globe.

By: Janne Toft Jensen, jaje@cowi.com
Published: 23.04.2004