Satellites show Dubai coast has grown 6%

DUBAI // Satellite images have revealed land reclamation has increased Dubai’s coastline by 6 per cent in six years.

The results were announced by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, which used photographs from Dubai-Sat 1 and Dubai-Sat 2 satellites, and an aerial image from the municipality.

Infrared satellite images that distinguish land were used in the study, with the first photos taken in 2009 and the most recent last year. The study analysed the emirate’s shoreline, from Deira to Ghantoot, by dividing it into eight sections.

The areas with the greatest beach growth were Jumeirah Beach and Al Mina, because of the man-made Pearl Jumeirah and Jumeirah Bay islands, and the Dubai Canal project.

Other reclamation projects contributed, including Bluewaters Island off the JBR coast and Al Mamzar Corniche Beach in Sharjah. Breakwaters that stop beach erosion further helped.

Yousef Al Shaibani, director general of the centre, said the results would benefit Dubai’s future development plans.

“The results of the study show the vital growth Dubai is witnessing, as the land expansion is the result of man-made projects,” Mr Al Shaibani said.

Coming projects, such as Nakheel’s Deira Islands, promise to deliver another 23.5 kilometres of shoreline.