The World Islands is a group of 300 artificial islands in the shape – you guessed it – of the continents of the earth, surrounded by a 27-kilometer breakwater. The individual islands are named for countries, states, and cities on earth. Some islands will be privately owned, some will be "communities," which will have several homes on them, some will have resort or commercial developments, and some are mixed development. The islands are located approximately four kilometers off the coast of Dubai.
The land reclamation work on The World Islands was completed in January 2008, and now the work in progress is building on the islands. As of the time this was written in August 2008, only 14 islands were showing as available for purchase – these are located in "North America," the "Middle East," and "Asia." Interested? Most islands cost between US$15 million to US$50 million each; however, there's a larger one available for a mere US$250 million. Each island ranges from about 14,000 square meters to about 42,000 square meters, and the distance between each island is about 100 meters.
The World Islands will be served by water transport, routed through four hubs strategically placed through the World. The location of the hubs means that travel time is limited to a maximum 15 minutes for any travel, including to the mainland. In addition to acting as transport centers, the hubs will also be commercial centers (e.g., public marinas, shopping, security, healthcare).
The company responsible for the islands' development, Nakheel, is owned by the Dubai government.
