SHARJAH, 30 January 2005 — Real estate developers Nakheel yesterday unveiled the world’s largest waterfront project where more than 250 master-planned communities would be located.

Called Dubai Waterfront, the project was launched by Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defense Minister Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum.

“Dubai Waterfront is an unprecedented advancement and a world-class addition to Dubai, one which will create long-term growth and investment for the UAE and the wider region,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “We’re inviting developers to benefit by being partners with Nakheel.”

Dubai Waterfront, described as the “new gateway of Dubai,” has been developed by an “international consortium of the world’s best architects, planners and urban developers.”

Spread over 81 million sq. mt., it will be bigger than Beirut and Manhattan.

Nakheel has created the Dubai Waterfront Company, and will be the majority owner, offering 49 percent to select investors.

Dubai Waterfront will be located 35 km south-west of Dubai, bordering Abu Dhabi, on the last remaining coastal waterfront of the emirate. It forms the first phase of a larger effort, the Arabian Canal, a 75-km development envisioned by Sheikh Mohammed.

The first phase of Dubai Waterfront will focus on Madinat Al-Arab, an urban downtown metropolis, including Al-Burj, one of the world’s tallest buildings.

The project will involve 600 km of roads and 370 km of internal canals and waterways; they will be nine times the length of the canal network in Venice and five times the length of the canal network in Amsterdam.

The excavation work planned will be equivalent to 15 times the volume excavated for the construction of the original Suez Canal.

Five square kilometers of coral reef will be created as a result of Dubai Waterfront, which is equivalent to 1,000 football pitches.