Nakheel, the master developer, claimed the 42 million sq m
project would be half the size of Paris when complete and home to nearly 1.3
million people.

Launched in 2003, it was claimed phase one of the
reclamation was 80 percent complete and the first of the marinas would be open
by the end of 2008.

While the official website shows work underway, work now
appears to have ground to a halt as Nakheel struggled to repay contracts on its
mega projects.

In October, Nakheel’s then CEO Chris O’Donnell said the
developer would restart some of its short-term projects, but admitted Palm
Deira would be unlikely to resume “in the foreseeable future.”

Click through to see the current state of the building site.