Al Lulu Island ( ar, جزيرة اللؤلؤ; Pearl island) is a man-made island off the coast of
Abu Dhabi island, the capital of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
. It stretches from the Abu Dhabi Breakwater to
Mina Zayed. Al Lulu Island is only accessed by private boat.
Development
Land reclamation was started in 1986 and completed in 1992.
In 1981, Brazilian architect
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...
worked on a proposal for the island to turn it into a leisure island including hotels and waterside residences, an elevated monorail, marina and aquarium, a nautical club, helipads, a convention centre and a zoo. Niemeyer's plans included a rejuvenation centre designed to attract geriatric
medical tourists, and a
culturally sensitive
Cultural sensitivity, also referred to as cross-cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness, is the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others' cultural identities. It is related to cultural competence (the skills needed fo ...
theme park that took its inspiration from ''
One Thousand and One Nights''. The proposal however was shelved because of its high costs and other more important commitments the Abu Dhabi government had at that time.
In September 2003 a corporation called the General Corporation for Development and Investment of Lulu Island was established for the development of the island. The corporation’s plans for the island included a wildlife reserve, parks, hotels, restaurants, man-made lakes and a museum. In 2006 Sorouh Real Estate proposed a mixed use commercial, residential, cultural and recreational facilities on the Island and in 2010 US architecture firm
Skidmore Owings & Merrill presented plans for a 1,312-foot-high 75 storey Lulu Tower that would have been shaped like a giant clam. Contract for the Lulu Road Project, an eight-kilometre-long, six-lane road that would connect the marina on Abu Dhabi’s breakwater with the docks at Mina Zayed was awarded. However these projects were put on hold indefinitely.
In 2007, when the island opened to the public the island had two restaurants, four coffee shops, a track for camel and horse riding and two artificial lakes.
References
1992 establishments in the United Arab Emirates
Artificial islands of the United Arab Emirates
Proposed buildings and structures in the United Arab Emirates
Islands of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
Central Region, Abu Dhabi
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