The Universe is a planned artificial

Artificial island

An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...

 archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 in the shape of the Milky Way

Milky Way

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...

 and Solar System

Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

, that would be built off the coast of Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

, United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

. The project was announced in January 2008 by the developer Nakheel, which also built the Palm Islands

Palm Islands

The Palm Islands are an artificial archipelago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on which major commercial and residential infrastructures will be constructed...

 and The World

The World (archipelago)

The World or World Islands is an artificial archipelago of various small islands constructed in the rough shape of a world map, located off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The World islands are composed mainly of sand dredged from Dubai's shallow coastal waters, and are one of several...

 archipelago. It was stated to be completed sometime between 2023 and 2028, but as of 2009, the project has been placed on hold. The dredging companies Van Oord

Van Oord

Van Oord is a Dutch contracting company that specializes in dredging and land reclamation. Van Oord has undertaken many projects throughout the world, including land reclamation, dredging and beach nourishment.-History:...

 and Jan de Nul

Jan De Nul

Jan De Nul Group is a family-owned Belgian company, with the financial headquarters in Luxembourg, that provides services relating to the construction and maintenance of maritime infrastructure on an international basis. Its main focus is dredging , which accounts for 85% of the turnover...

, the same companies used for the Palm Islands and The World, will create up to 3,000 hectares of land.

The Universe is to be located between the Palm Jumeirah

Palm Jumeirah

The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial archipelago created using land reclamation by Nakheel, a company owned by the Dubai government in United Arab Emirates. It is one of three islands called the Palm Islands which extend into the Persian Gulf, increasing Dubai’s shoreline by a total of...

, The World, the Jumeirah

Jumeirah

Jumeirah literally means "beautiful." It is a coastal residential area in Dubai, United Arab Emirates mainly comprising low rise private dwellings. It is administratively divided into three neighborhoods titled "Jumeirah 1," Jumeirah 2" and "Jumeirah 3." It has both expensive and large detached...

 coast and the Palm Deira

Palm Deira

The Palm Deira is an artificial archipelago, part of the Palm Islands, Dubai. It was announced for development in October 2004. The first announced design was 8 times larger than the Palm Jumeirah, and 5 times larger than the Palm Jebel Ali, and was intended to house one million people. Originally,...

.

Current status

The Universe project was in the planning stages, but was placed on hold in 2009. Nakheel's website continues to list The Universe as a "future project".

External links

• The Universe at Nakheel's official site