
It’s unlikely that anyone would complain about perfect Dubai’s winter weather. However, Dubai developers will soon be able to provide even snow for those, who just long for the perfect Christmas atmosphere. And not just under the roof of Ski Dubai, the largest indoor ski hall, but in the 'European' streets of the Heart of Europe project at the man-made islands of The World. They will hardly cope with this challenging task by this year’s Christmas, but it is possible to see the project completed by the end of the next year.
As recently as last Wednesday, Kleindienst Group, the company developing The Heart of Europe cluster of islands at The World archipelago announced that contracts have been signed with the three independent contractors to immediately break ground at the project and start creating all that planned wonders. The total worth of construction contracts is valued at AED 4.8 billion.
Contacts imply the construction of hotels and resorts, as well as delivering all the necessary infrastructure for the six islands of the project, with Saint-Petersburg heart-shaped island housing unique drifting/underwater Seahorse Villas to be the central of them. St. Petersburg Island, according to developer’s idea, is going to become the main Dubai’s attraction for honeymooners.
The initial cost of developing The Heart of Europe has increased up to USD 1.5 billion over the use of the latest engineering solutions at the confluence of marine and civil construction fields. However, the demand for unique villas pays it off, and now the project that seemed a utopia and science fiction just few years ago is taking real shape. However, the Dubai’s "St. Petersburg" is luckier in terms of the weather, than the real one: there will be only sunny beaches, while quite realistic snow and rain is about to wet down the old Europe-styled streets on the "Germany" and "Europe" islands.
Artificial man-made islands, like The World, are one of the wonders Dubai can be deservedly proud of. The first batch of these was presented by three palm-shaped archipelagoes: Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, seen even from space. The World archipelago development is a later and relatively recent decision made by Dubai’s government in relation to further development of artificial islands, but the emirate's authorities have even more ambitious plans for creation of another group of islands named The Universe, while Kleindienst Group is going to further develop another set of five islands at The World with its new project Pearl of Asia.