5 Lagoons floating islands project begins to take shape in the Maldives

A unique series of man-made floating islands - called the 5 Lagoons Project – have begun to take shape in Maldives, which will be a series of almost 1,300 islands in the Indian Ocean.

The floating islands are part of a joint project that many hope will be the solution to the impending environmental crisis the islands could face over the next 50 years.

Thanks to climate change and the forecast of increasing sea levels, the Maldives - which are now only one and a half metres above sea level — could one day be totally submerged.

The project is a joint venture between the Maldivian government and Dutch Docklands, a Holland-based firm that specialises in building everything from floating prisons to floating conference and hotel complexes and homes.

The 5 Lagoons Project — 80 million square feet — will include: a private islands project with $10 million villas; a floating 18-hole golf course with an undersea tunnel; a conference complex and hotel; 185 $1-million waterfront homes connected along a flower-shaped quay as well as a separate floating island with homes for residents of the Maldivian capital.