Here are some images that show how Palm Jumeirah currently looks like.

The engineers from dutch Royal Haskoning have won the design competition for a 450m bridge in Dubai. Nakheel, the developer, wants them to create a motorway bridge to connect Jebel Ali (Dubai’s largest Palm Island) to the mainland. Two 135m high pylons and 72 stay cables will support the eight lane bridge, that will also have pavements for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge will be 50m wide and will have a free span of 225m.

Dubai became in 1971 one of the 7 emirates of the UAE (United Arab Emirates). The country has a surface of 3'885 km² (1.5 times the surface of Luxembourg), but 75% of the territory is covered by the desert. Dubai is governed since January 4, 2006, by Emir Mohammed ben Rached al Maktoum. The population increased from 265'702 in 1980, to 669'181 in 1995 and to 1,321,453 in 2006. In 2003, 84% of the population was immigrated and 71% were men.