In Dubai, It's The End Of 'The World'

September 29, 2009 at 9:13 AM | by JetSetCD | Comments (0)

In order for Dubai to survive the worldwide recession and nurture their burgeoning reputation as a must-visit destination, the weak and frivolous projects must suffer in favor of things that actually contribute to the city. Thus, we are only somewhat surprised to learn of the failure of the multi-billion-dollar project of man-made islands called "The World."

After all, the islands were only due to be accessibly by the richest of the rich, with no dynamic plans for the future after the many moneyed residents built their homes on the islands. The Burj Dubai and Dubai metro system will however positively impact both locals and tourists—that's why they get the go-ahead during these rough times while The World ends.

Perhaps the biggest press that The World project got was when it was rumored that Tommy Lee had bought an island for Pamela Anderson, but, as turns out, Tommy never got an invitation (yes, you can only buy by invitation-only), and so the news fizzled.

The Times UK even notes how some of the original investors, who put down 70% deposits, have fared just about as well as the project: "John O�Dolan, who fronted a consortium that bought Ireland in 2007 for $38 million (�27 million), committed suicide earlier this year."

Only one island seems to be flourishing, and that is the one supposedly owned by the Sheikh, the ruler of Dubai. The only island that looks like something more than a sand pit is the one pictured above, found on Google Maps. With three megayachts, a heliport and a massive pool, whoever is living there is obviously going to unaffected by the lack of community association. Still, now our dream of crashing on a future friend's swank pad on one of the islands must die.

[Photo: Google Maps]

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