
Marsa Al Arab is a $1.7b two-island project from Dubai Holding. The man-made structures, 2.5 million square feet in total, will nestle either side of the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel.

While one island is geared toward tourists with a theme park and marine education complex, the other island will feature luxury residences and a private marina.

The whole project will add 2,400 hotel rooms to Dubai's Jumeirah Beach, and with completion penciled in for late 2020, will come just in time for Expo 2020.

Marsa Al Arab will join numerous other man-made structures off the coast of Dubai. This shot, taken from the International Space Station, captures the Palm Jumeirah and the World Islands.

This is a view of the Palm Jumeirah after its completion in 2007. It was the first offshore development of its kind and has villas, hotels, shopping malls and its very own monorail.

A view of Atlantis, the luxury hotel located at the top of the Palm Jumeirah islands.

The Burj al-Arab is the third tallest hotel in the world and sits on an artificial island 280 m from Jumeirah beach on the mainland. Designed to resemble the sail of the ship, the luxury hotel has become an icon of Dubai.

An aerial view shows an unfinished area of the human-made Palm Jebel Ali island built by Nakheel property giant off the coast of the Gulf emirate of Dubai. Following the financial crisis of 2008 the project was put on hold.

The World or World Islands is an artificial archipelago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The various islands form a world map that can be seen from an aerial view.

The three human-made artificial archipelagos in Dubai (from left): the World Islands, Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali.

The Atlantis Hotel overlooks the Palm.

A dredger barge pumps sand onto the sea bed three miles off the Dubai coast in 2002 during the construction of the Palm Jumeirah.

A super yacht moored off The Palm.

Dubai celebrates the landmark grand opening of Atlantis, The Palm Resort in 2008.