00:00There was a time when the sea served as the boundary.
00:03Beyond the shore, there were no cities, roads, or airports, only water.
00:09The ocean serves as the boundary, a divider, and a natural barrier.
00:13But people have never been content with limitations.
00:17And when the land began to run out, or when space simply wasn't enough,
00:22people decided to see the sea not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity.
00:28This is where places began to emerge that, at first glance, seemed like they shouldn't exist.
00:35Islands created from scratch, territories reclaimed from the sea,
00:39and entire cities built using millions of tons of sand and rock.
00:45Some were created out of necessity, others out of ambition, and some as a display of technological power.
00:54Today, let's discover the 10 largest artificial islands in the world,
00:59from resorts and airports that seem to float on the sea,
01:03to an entire province literally reclaimed from the ocean.
01:07But before we begin, if you're new to our channel, please click the subscribe button,
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01:18Stonecutter's Island, China, in the middle of Hong Kong's harbor,
01:22there was once a small and rocky island known as Stonecutter's Island.
01:27For many decades, this was a strategic location controlled by the British,
01:32and used as a military base, a site for stone quarrying, and a communication center.
01:37But its fate changed, because of the relentless growth of the city.
01:43As Hong Kong needed more space, the sea was gradually filled in,
01:47and a huge amount of additional land was created through land reclamation.
01:53Over time, the island stopped being a truly separate island.
01:58Much of its coastline was expanded and eventually merged with the Kowloon Peninsula,
02:04which is connected by roads, logistics, infrastructure,
02:08and the impressive Stonecutter's Bridge.
02:13Today, it is home to important port facilities
02:16and one of the city's main wastewater treatment plants.
02:21This is a clear example of how engineering can completely transform the geography of a place.
02:29Hulhumale, Maldives, across from Mail,
02:33the capital of the Maldives, lies Hulhumale,
02:36an artificial island covering an area of approximately 4 square kilometers.
02:42It was created in the late 1990s, on top of a deep coral reef.
02:49It was not built for luxury or to showcase technological power,
02:54but because of an urgent need
02:57to reduce the overcrowding in mail
02:59and to prepare for the rising sea levels
03:02in one of the most vulnerable countries in the world.
03:06Millions of cubic meters of sand were dredged and piled up to raise the land
03:11higher than the usual elevation of the islands in the archipelago.
03:15Today, the island is home to houses and wide roads,
03:21green spaces and artificial beaches
03:23designed according to climate adaptation standards.
03:29Hulhumale is not just land reclaimed from the sea.
03:32It is an urban experiment built as a possible refuge from an uncertain future.
03:38Port Island, Japan, across from the city of Kobe, in Osaka Bay,
03:43lies Port Island, an artificial island covering 5.2 square kilometers.
03:49It was built from 1966 to 1981.
03:53As part of an ambitious plan to expand the port,
03:57Japan needed more space for infrastructure and commercial activities.
04:02And the sea was the only direction they could possibly expand.
04:06Millions of tons of soil were moved from nearby mountains to fill the bay
04:12and create new land that could be inhabited.
04:15Over time, Port Island was no longer just an industrial extension.
04:20Today, you can find residential areas,
04:23a convention center and a university here,
04:26and hotels that are connected to the mainland by bridges
04:30and an automated transportation system.
04:34It's history shows how Japanese engineering
04:37not only acquires new land from the sea,
04:40but can also transform former industrial spaces
04:43into fully functional urban areas.
04:48Ilá do Fundón, Inguanabara Bay,
04:51across from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
04:54an artificial island with an area of approximately 5.23 kilometers zero
04:59that was created in the mid-20th century.
05:02It was not literally created in the 70s.
05:05Instead, it was formed by combining and expanding
05:09several small natural islands
05:11using large amounts of earth-fill and rubble stones.
05:16The main goal was to create space for essential infrastructure
05:20in a rapidly growing city.
05:24On this new land,
05:25the main campus of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro was built,
05:29along with research centers, industrial facilities,
05:33and facilities related to energy.
05:36Palm Jumeirah, United Arab Emirates.
05:39Off the coast of the Persian Gulf,
05:41off Dubai, lies Palm Jumeirah,
05:44an artificial island with an area of 5.7 square kilometers.
05:49It was built from 2001 to 2008 using extensive land reclamation methods.
05:56The idea was as ambitious as it looks,
05:59to create an island shaped like a date palm tree
06:02that can be seen from the sky with a gigantic trunk,
06:0617 branches,
06:07and an outer section that serves as a breakwater
06:10to build this.
06:12Over 90 million cubic meters of sand
06:15were dredged from the seabed,
06:17while millions of tons of rock
06:19were used to shape and reinforce the island.
06:22The result is an entirely new landmass
06:25that added many kilometers of coastline to Dubai
06:27and completely changed the city's geography.
06:30Today, Palm Jumeirah is a symbol of luxury
06:33and extreme extravagance.
06:36Here you can find five-star hotels,
06:39exclusive villas, shopping centers, and marinas,
06:42as well as iconic resorts like Atlantis, the Palm.
06:46This unique design can be seen from space
06:49and has become one of the most recognizable symbols
06:51of humanity's ability to transform the sea.
06:55Palm Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates,
06:59following the global attention gained by Palm Jumeirah,
07:03Dubai decided to create an even larger Palm Jebel Ali.
07:08This new palm-shaped island was designed on a larger scale
07:12with land of approximately 8 square kilometers
07:15that can be developed.
07:17But if you include the entire project,
07:20including the large outer protection ring
07:23or breakwater that surrounds the island,
07:25the total area reaches 13.4 square kilometers.
07:30Construction began in 2007.
07:33It progressed quickly until the global financial crisis in 2008,
07:38which halted the project after its main foundation was completed.
07:42From the air, its shape can still be seen
07:45as an unfinished structure
07:47that seems to be floating on the surface of the Persian Gulf.
07:51Hong Kong International Airport, China, in 1998.
07:56Hong Kong inaugurated one of the largest engineering projects in Asia,
08:01the Hong Kong International Airport,
08:03which was built on an artificial island
08:05covering approximately 9.4 square kilometers.
08:09It was not created directly in the open sea.
08:12Instead, two small and hilly islands,
08:15Cechlapkok and Lam Chau,
08:17were flattened and merged,
08:19which were almost completely transformed
08:21and expanded through massive land reclamation,
08:23with the project involving the relocation
08:26of over 300 million cubic meters of materials.
08:29Imagine entire sections of mountains were leveled
08:32to create stable land in the sea.
08:35The goal was to replace the old Kaitak Airport,
08:38which was surrounded by skyscrapers
08:40and had become cramped and dangerous for airplanes.
08:43Today, the artificial island is not only home
08:47to one of the busiest airports in the world,
08:49it is also a symbol of Hong Kong's ability
08:52to reshape its own geography when space is limited.
08:57Kansai International Kansai Airport
09:00Japan Kansai International Airport
09:02is located in Osaka Bay,
09:04built on an artificial island covering 10.7 kilometers zero
09:08and opened in 1994.
09:11Because of the mountainous terrain
09:13and lack of flat land in Japan,
09:16the country has been expanding towards the sea for decades,
09:19and Kansai International Airport
09:21is one of its largest and most ambitious projects.
09:26Millions of tons of rock and soil
09:28were used to create the island beneath the bay,
09:31forming a massive platform designed to withstand storms and earthquakes.
09:36However, the project faced an unexpected problem.
09:41The land began to sink more than expected.
09:44Since the airport opened,
09:46the island has sunk by several meters.
09:48So it had to be continuously reinforced and repaired
09:52to maintain the stability of the entire structure.
09:54Kansai is not the only airport in Japan.
09:58That was built on an artificial island,
10:01but it is the largest
10:02and represents the immense cost and courage
10:06required to
10:07build important infrastructure over the sea
10:11in one of the most challenging natural environments on the planet.
10:16Yass Island
10:24United Arab Emirates
10:26About 20 kilometers from the center of Abu Dhabi
10:29lies Yass Island,
10:30an artificial island covering 25 square kilometers
10:33that has been extensively developed since the early 2000s.
10:37Unlike other projects created due to a lack of land,
10:40Yass Island has a clear purpose,
10:42to become a global center for leisure and entertainment.
10:44To achieve this,
10:46vast areas of the sea were reclaimed
10:49and the coastline of the Persian Gulf
10:51was completely transformed.
10:53The island became a truly important destination in 2009
10:57when the Yass Marina Circuit was opened,
10:59becoming the home of the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix.
11:03Soon after,
11:04Ferrari World was opened,
11:06followed by hotels,
11:07theme parks,
11:08shopping centers,
11:10and marinas for sports activities.
11:13In just about a decade,
11:14what was once part of the sea
11:17has become one of the biggest tourist destinations in the Middle East.
11:22This shows that in the Persian Gulf,
11:24land can also be created and designed as a grand spectacle.
11:31Flevopolder, Netherlands.
11:33In the middle of the Netherlands,
11:34you'll find Flevopolder,
11:36a vast artificial land
11:38with an area of approximately 970 square kilometers.
11:42It is considered the largest land reclaimed from water,
11:46based on its area.
11:47Its story began in the early 20th century
11:50as part of the extensive Zooiderzee works,
11:52a system of dikes,
11:54drainage and pumping stations
11:56designed to control the water of the former Zooiderzee Bay
11:59and turn parts of the former sea into dry land.
12:03The Flevopolder was not created in a single day.
12:06Its land was reclaimed in two main stages,
12:09the first in 1950
12:10and the second in 1960.
12:13Eventually,
12:14the vast land that now makes up
12:16a large part of the province of Flevoland was formed.
12:21It is surrounded by artificial lakes,
12:23such as Izalmir,
12:25Ketalmir and Gomir.
12:27The area is connected to other parts of the country
12:29by dikes,
12:30bridges
12:31and roads that seem to defy
12:33the traditional concept of geography.
12:35Today,
12:36the Flevopolder
12:37is not just an impressive feat of engineering.
12:40It is a land where hundreds of thousands of people live,
12:43where opportunities are cultivated
12:45and where the struggle against water
12:48has become a part of everyday life.
12:50For many centuries,
12:51water served as the boundary on maps.
12:54It is a barrier,
12:55a threat
12:56and a wild territory that cannot be controlled.
12:59However,
13:00in different parts of the world,
13:02humanity decided not just to adapt to the space they had,
13:06but to create new land.
13:08From an entire province like Flevopolder
13:12to complex tourist destinations in the Persian Gulf
13:15and airports built right on top of the sea.
13:20These artificial islands show how far engineering can go
13:24when land is scarce
13:25or ambition keeps growing.
13:28Some were born out of necessity,
13:31others for strategic reasons,
13:33and some to showcase wealth and power.
13:37But they all have one thing in common.
13:40These are lands that were once just water.
13:43And even though they seem permanent,
13:45they still rely on dikes,
13:47breakwaters,
13:48and constant maintenance.
13:50The battle between man and the sea is not over yet.
13:54When you gain new land from the sea,
13:56that's when the real challenge begins.
13:59Now, I want to know your opinion.
14:01Would you live on an artificial island built over the sea?
14:05Or would it make you feel hesitant?
14:08Write your answer in the comments.
14:10And if you're interested in stories like this,
14:13where geography and engineering change the world,
14:16subscribe to Noel Polo Television
14:19so you won't miss upcoming videos.
14:24Thank you for being here.
