Monorail work begins at The Palm Jumeirah

Construction work will begin on the Palm Monorail at The Palm Jumeirah following a joint ground-breaking ceremony held by Nakheel and Japanese contractors the Marubeni Corporation.

The ceremony, held at the site of Atlantis, The Palm, was attended by His Highness Sheikh Hasher Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum; Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, Nakheel; His Excellency Hajime Tsujimoto, Ambassador of Japan; and Shigeki Kuwahara, Executive Deputy President, Marubeni Corporation.

The Palm Monorail, which will take three years to complete, will serve as an efficient transit system between the Gateway Station at the trunk of The Palm Jumeirah and the Atlantis Station on the crescent, calling at two intermediate stations. The mechanical and electrical system, and monorail vehicles, will be engineered, manufactured and commissioned by the leading railway system manufacturer in Japan - Hitachi Ltd. Hitachi’s expertise and experience includes the delivery of high speed train systems and monorail systems to many cities around the world including Taiwan, China, Malaysia, and Iran.

His Excellency Mr Hajime Tsujimoto, Ambassador of Japan, said: “It is indeed a great pleasure to witness the launch of the Palm Monorail project at The Palm Jumeirah. I am very proud to see that the highly regarded Marubeni Corporation has been chosen for the execution of this magnificent endeavour to match the standards of this world class project. I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Nakheel and the Marubeni Corporation for reaching the stage of this magnificent project. The Palm Jumeirah is truly a signature project representing the ingenuity of not only Dubai, but the whole world. The Monorail at The Palm Jumeirah will undoubtedly provide this island with an environmentally friendly, quiet, smooth and reliable transport system.

“This Japan–UAE venture is yet another milestone in the excellent relations between Japan and Dubai as well as Japan and the UAE. Once completed, this prestigious transport system will play an important role in linking The Palm Jumeirah with the city and beyond and attracting tourists to the UAE from the world over.

I sincerely hope that the Monorail will contribute greatly to the further developments of the ever growing city of Dubai and of the UAE for many years to come.”

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, Nakheel, said: “I am very proud that we are here to lay the foundations for the Monorail at The Palm Jumeirah – the eighth wonder of the world. I am delighted to be here today with the Marubeni Corporation at the site of Atlantis, The Palm; when complete, this incredible water-themed resort, inspired by its sister hotel Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas will add approximately 1,500 rooms and 2km of beachfront to The Palm Jumeirah. The Monorail will play a vital role in connecting the fronds to the crescent, providing not only smooth transportation to Atlantis, but also act as a big attraction to The Palm.”

The Marubeni Corporation will also work with a civil and building work partner to develop the Monorail - a joint venture between the Ohbayashi Corporation, and Oriental Construction. Ohbayashi, a renowned general construction company in Japan, has already started work in Dubai on the Dubai Metro Project, while Oriental Construction has extensive experience in the construction of monorail structures.

The Palm Monorail project will be driverless, although an attendant will be on board at all times. This requires a state-of-the-art and well proven automatic train operation control system developed by The Nippon Signal - the number one railway signal system manufacturer in Japan who have delivered the system for the Hitachi monorail system in Tokyo Disney Resort. Automatic fare collection manufacturers OMRON will also provide a state-of-the-art system using smart cards as tickets.  

Mr Shigeki Kuwahara, Executive Deputy President, Marubeni Corporation, said: “I would like to express my special thanks to our employer, Nakheel, for giving us this very important task and responsibility for constructing the Monorail system.

We are fully aware that for all visitors and travelers touring into The Palm Jumeirah, the first impression on this island will be greatly affected by their short and efficient trip on the monorail. The monorail should take all the travelers to the world of new experience from their everyday life. Once the doors of the monorail have quietly closed and the train has calmly and smoothly started, their hearts shall be brightened, their faces will light up.

“With all the experiences and expertise owned by our team, I believe that in three years our client will understand that its decision to pick the Japanese monorail is absolutely right. The concept and whole idea of The Palm Jumeirah is unparalleled. I think that the credit should be given to the developer, Nakheel. I am truly thrilled to be able to work on the monorail system here and to be able to contribute in a modest extent to the great success of The Palm Jumeirah project.”

Marwan Al Qamzi, Head of Procurement and Contracts, Nakheel, said: “I am delighted to take part in this prestigious ceremony on this project of great importance. We have been working day and night to make this happen; we have studied space requirements, safety and tourist preference and we believe the end result will exceed all expectations. I believe that the Marubeni Corporation is the best possible choice to complete this project.”