It was a new millennium, Brazil won the FIFA World Cup and a 73-storey building, the Dubai Pearl was announced.

Back in the noughties, the initial plans for the Dubai Pearl involved four towers, complete with 1,490 apartments, seven five-star hotels, over 60 restaurants and a 1,600-seat theatre.

Occupying a prime location overlooking the Palm Jumeirah, between Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village, the plan was to create a “city within a city”. You might notice it every time you drive onto Palm Jumeirah.

Fast forward 20 years, and after a struggle to get the needed cash, the demolition of the Dubai Pearl is underway, first-hand witnesses told Arabian Business, as deconstruction equipment was spotted at the site.

The Dhs22 billion mega-project, which overlooks Palm Jumeirah had two decades ago promised to offer premium branded residences as well as a food and entertainment destination. The Dubai Pearl website still says that once complete, 30,000 people would be able to call this project their home.

Basically, Dubai Pearl’s construction was on-and-off because its investments were shaky.

It was originally scheduled for completion in 2006, but as investors continued to pull out, the project continued to rollercoaster until 2022 when the project may finally come to a halt.

Arabian Business reported that the site could potentially see redevelopment, with the Pearl project returning in a different form, or another development altogether.