Nakheel to build artificial reefs off Dubai coast

The artificial reefs are designed to attract and support large fish populations, and will cover the entire coastline of Dubai.

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Nakheel plans to build 500 artificial reefs off the coast of Dubai in a bid to stimulate the marine environment, especially off Palm Jumeirah and The World.

The artificial reefs are designed to attract and support large fish populations, and will cover the entire coastline of Dubai. Fishing will only be allowed in a small percentage of the site in order to ensure fishery resources are not over-exploited.

The project, in cooperation with Dubai Municipality and the Emirates Marine Environmental Group (EMEG), will take around one year to complete. Nakheel said it will disclose the value of the project upon conclusion of a scientific study.

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“It will help the local economy from having a good tourist industry in Dubai and environmentally I think we did our best to protect the environment,” Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said.

Development of the reefs will not be a “big financial burden” said Lootah, without specifying the cost. “We have the materials, we have the stone, we have the barges – we have most of this already. The materials are with us so it’s not going to cost us very much,” he said.

Some of the reefs will be made from rock excavated from the Jebel Ali Waterfront project.