Dubai Floats Idea to Build Around Sea Level Problems

"Paul van de Camp moved to Dubai from Holland because of that 'anything is possible' spirit. He isn't interested in skiing in the desert, but he has opened an office in Dubai to try to sell an equally bold concept: building on water. His company, Dutch Docklands, specializes in floating structures."

"Constructing floating houses or restaurants or even villages is an idea that first came to him in his native Holland, where land to build on is scarce and water is plentiful."

"Dubai has plenty of desert, but it also has miles of coastline along the Persian Gulf. They've built loads of artificial islands offshore, but they've run out of sand."

"Van de Camp has given them a new option: floating islands."

"He's just gotten the green light to begin building a string of islands, each in the shape of an Arabic letter. If you were to look at the proposed islands from an airplane or an orbiting satellite, they would spell a bit of Arabic poetry written by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai."