The new "Ireland" island off the coast of Dubai has attracted an unprecedented level of interest from potential Irish investors.
The new owners of the island, property developers Ray Norton and Noel Conelan from Ennis, Co Clare, and John O'Dolan from Co Galway, say they have received at least 125 inquiries about the project over the past few days.
"The extent of the response we've gotten from Irish people is completely unexpected," said Mr Norton, managing director of property company Larionovo.
The new Ireland covers an area of about two hectares, and was purchased for €20 million from the Dubai state-owned developer Nakheel. The deal was done last month, and there has been little publicity and virtually no advertising, which makes the interest by potential buyers all the more surprising.
It is one of 300 man-made islands, each shaped to represent a country or continent, and resembles a compact map of the globe. The artificial archipelago, known as The World, measures nine kilometres by six kilometres and cost over €5 billion to create.
"Each island should be like the country it represents," Mr Norton said. "We hope that people can go to Dubai and get a taste for Ireland."
Mr Norton first invested in Dubai three and a half years ago. His previous property development projects include Thailand in The World, the Dubai Sports City and the Snowdome residences - an indoor winter wonderland aimed at skiers and snow boarders.
"Ireland" is planned as a luxury resort-type development, consisting of about 170 apartments and 15 luxury villas. An Irish bar and restaurant will also be incorporated into plans. Interested investors will buy property and lease it through hotels. "It seems from our research that Ireland is the number one destination for people in Europe wanting to go to spas," Mr Norton said.
"So that's what we're going after: a place people can go to relax and hopefully have a bit of the craic you'd expect going to Ireland. It will be a relaxing resort, where you're also guaranteed the sunshine."
"Ireland's position is great. Because America is quite far away, [in terms of the development] there are fantastic sea views and few waves so it's ideal for swimming."
The islands are separated by about 50km to 100km of waterway, and can only be accessed by air or marine transport. Almost €4 million will be spent by the Dubai authorities to provide a network of water taxis to operate between the continents and countries. Anyone wanting to travel from Ireland to New York will be able to do so in 10 minutes. The project, which began four years ago, is due to be completed in 2012.