Khor Dubai
The Khor Dubai ( Arabic خور دبي Chaur Dubayy , DMG Ḫawr Dubayy ; English Dubai Creek ) is a natural inlet of the Persian Gulf thatdividesthe city of Dubai into the districts of Bur Dubai (west of the bay) and Deira. It is 14 kilometers long and 115 meters wide at the mouth to 1400 meters at its end.
history
The establishment and development of the city of Dubai is due to the existence of the Khor Dubai. The first buildings were built along the estuary. At first it was mostly a question of fishermen's and pearl divers' huts, but with the settlement of traders and seafarers, its importance as a port increased continuously. In the 1970s it was deepened and expanded and made usable for larger ships. Nowadays the importance of the inlet has decreased, since the "big" international shipping traffic is handled almost exclusively in the two overseas ports.
location
Three bridges cross the estuary, the Business Bay Bridge (opened in September 2007), the al-Maktum-Bridge and the al-Garhud-Bridge, further bridges are planned. The al-Bastakiyya district is on the river. On the western bank is the Dubai Creekside Park with various themed gardens such as "Flowers", the park flows smoothly into the Dubai Children's City, a "city within the city" opened in 2002. The natural outlet of the inlet is a wooded lagoon. It is protected as the Ras al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary and is at times home to over 20,000 migratory birds.
The traditional water taxis ( Abra ) allow the crossing from Deira (district in the east) to Bur Dubai as well as some tours along the sights. About a kilometer inland from the estuary is the old town on the western bank of the river. On the banks of Bur Dubai is Schindagha, the former residence of Sheikh Said ibn Maktum, which is now open to the public. Ancient port facilities can be found again and again along the inlet.
Economical meaning
The inlet was once the center of the city and the main port. The inlet of the sea was the most important engine for economic development until the oil industry was established. This is due to its very central location, its easy accessibility from all parts of the city and the natural protection of the shore. The importance of the "small" shipping traffic has, however, declined sharply, since the transshipment volume has lost a lot of importance relative to the total volume in the two major ports.
Construction projects
Dubai is known for its large and ambitious construction projects such as the Palm Islands , Dubai Waterfront , The World or the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa . Large construction projects are also currently being carried out along the Khor Dubai. For better visibility and marketing, they are each dedicated to a topic that is suggested in the name of the quarter. In addition, the Khor Dubai is to be extended.
Khor-Dubai extension
The Khor Dubai is currently being extended from the end bank to the north by around 12 km through a canal-like continuation to the Persian Gulf. This extension primarily serves to improve the landscape design of the desert-like “barren” building areas in the catchment area. The new water areas should have a minimum width of 100 m, in some places bulging 200 to 500 m and 6 m deep. Water vehicles (especially yachts but also traffic and supply boats) up to approx. 60 m in length can be used. The road and pedestrian bridges over the canal are to have a clearance height of 8.5 meters to ensure that boats with superstructures can travel freely. To do this, it is necessary to raise the approximately seven larger road crossings along the canal accordingly. The canal banks will be preserved and designed with accompanying greenery. Three larger marinas in bays and numerous private and public moorings are planned.
The first section (7.8 km, partially completed by 2008, continuously flooded from the inlet of the inlet in 2011) is the extension to Business Bay Nord. The second section with a length of 2.2 km is the most complex and expensive in terms of construction, because its bed usually has to fall back on already built-up terrain. It was first started in December 2007 and is to cross the Sheikh Zayed Road , which is to be lifted to a length of 600 meters , runs narrower and slightly curved in the northern Safa Park or along the edge of the park and through the Al Wasl district to the coast through the Jumeirah Beach Park. Another rescheduling of this time-consuming section was announced in April 2009, so its completion date was postponed somewhat. The first preparatory work for the final construction phase began in autumn 2014: the western Safapark and a section of the Jumeirah Park were cleared for the dredging work and the diversion for the raising of Sheik Zayed Road was prepared. The plans envisage an area enhanced by three pedestrian bridges based on the banks of Venice or the Netherlands. After rapid construction, the extension was opened at the end of 2016. The extended estuary ends in the Persian Gulf after a total of 26.2 km. It surrounds the new Dubai City around the Burj Khalifa to the south and turns the entire Bur Dubai district into an artificial island of around 15 square kilometers.
Above all, the previous dead end Khor Dubai will become an inner-city and navigable waterway with a sea connection on both sides, which will also serve further tourist use. The marine department of the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) was commissioned to plan the future closed inlet waterway in a water transport system to be developed for Dubai. The aim is now to systematically expand the entire capacity of Dubai's navigable waterways, both inland and on the coast, as an alternative to road traffic and to supplement public transport. There will also be another connection one day with the planned canal system for the large Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens project .
The project costs the equivalent of 85 million euros, and 11 million cubic meters of excavated material will be used for modeling the landscape.
The Lagoons
The Lagoons is a project of the Sama Dubai company on an area of around 7 km² on the south bank. The cost will amount to around 12 billion euros. The project envisages an enlarged inlet water area and seven separate islands embedded in it. A renatured mangrove area is also planned on the southwestern edge.
An opera house modeled on the inland sand dunes with 2500 seats (architect: Zaha Hadid ) was to be built on one of the islands, it was to be the first on the Arabian Peninsula, before the planned Abu Dhabi opera . After the failure of this plan at the end of 2008, the German former cultural commissioner Schindhelm declared: "Because culture was used as a marketing instrument for the real estate industry. The opera, the museums, the theaters - the whole cultural project at Khor Dubai was ultimately supposed to help a huge building project finance." This primacy of the economy, which is primarily to be found in Dubai, has pushed the opera house project a long way off; the openly commercially oriented mentality of the investors currently leaves no room for the necessary subsidies from high-quality cultural institutions. A parking garage is now being built in place of the opera house.
Otherwise, the areas are criss-crossed with numerous canals and lagoons, where plots are available for residential development, hotels, etc., many with the popular bank connection. The site movement began in 2006 and the infrastructure work is expected to be completed in 2012. At the moment (May 2011) the start of construction work is not yet in sight. Even with the best progress, the project might not be completed before 2016; it will add another 40 km of artificial shoreline to the Khor Dubai.
Culture Village
The Culture Village is a project by Dubai Properties. The project will be realized on the northwest side of the estuary between the Al Garhud Bridge and the Business Bay Crossing Bridge. It will primarily be built in the old Arabic style, although the center of the central housing estate will consist of a modern building complex; The urbanization is dominated by the glass-clad "D1" skyscraper with a height of 284 meters. A three-armed “Venetian” canal of around 1500 meters in length will lead through the area, and some modeled peninsulas will ensure sufficient bank areas. The canal with its bridges is currently completed and the first buildings are being worked on. Culture Village will cost around 9.5 billion euros and cover an area of 3.7 km², i. H. after all, about 60% of the area of the historic center of Venice.
Dubai Festival City
The Dubai Festival City is the most advanced project on Khor Dubai. It represents another “city within the city” and will be completed on an area of 4.6 km² in the approximately 3 km long area between the Al Garhud Bridge and the north end of The Lagoons. Thematically, it is aimed at organizers of popular cultural and sporting events: numerous halls and lounges with all the associated infrastructure. Construction work began in 2003 and will not be completed until 2017 due to the modular extension. The core Marsa Plaza with parts of the marina, Festival Tower, InterContinental Dubai Festival City, Festival Waterfront Center, first sections of the Canal Walk and parts of the golf course have already been completed.
Business Bay
The Business Bay is another very large project starting at the end of the Khor Dubai to Sheik Zayed Road, realized by the company Dubai Properties. A mixed office and residential city is being created, traversed by the new inlet channel and other lateral water areas. The project is also a logical continuation of the currently emerging district on Burj Khalifa. It is under construction in 2011 and comprises over 230 solitary buildings, mostly high-rise buildings with medium heights (40–200 m), but also some tall and striking skyscrapers such as the over 500 m high Burj Al Alam or the conspicuously winding Dancing Towers.
The first buildings were completed at the beginning of 2009 (e.g. Executive Towers ), the last in 2014 at the earliest. Due to the economic crisis, investors postponed some projects or shut down buildings that had already started.
The major project covers an area of 6 km² and will also have its own golf course. The location of the quarter along the new Inlet Canal, which will also make many of the properties accessible by boats, is interesting.
Jewel of the Creek
Jewel of the Creek is a smaller construction project on the east bank of Khor Dubai. It will be located between the Al-Maktum Bridge and the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club on a former refinery site. The costs will amount to 570 million euros for a project size of 62.2 hectares. It offers 20 office buildings with a height between 20 and 23 floors.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Xpress - Dubai Creek: It Just Got Longer (English)
- ↑ Creek Expansion To Make Bur Dubai An Island (English)
- ↑ Dubai Creek project: Traffic diversion on Shaikh Zayed Road soon ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
Web links
Coordinates: 25 ° 14 ′ 20 ″ N , 55 ° 19 ′ 50 ″ E