That involvement includes Hill's high-visibility role as project manager for the design and construction of Jumeirah and its sister island Palm Jebel Ali, the two man-made, palm-shaped islands in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Dubai. Created under Hill International's watchful eye in a $2.8 billion project that involved the use of more than 100 million cubic meters of earth and about five million cubic meters of rock fill to complete, the effort was heralded by the world press as one of the most ambitious and unusual in construction history. Some have even dubbed it the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

Each island is built in the shape of a palm tree with 17 fronds and a trunk connected to the mainland. The site has the distinction of being only the second man-made object that can be viewed from space. The Great Wall of China is the other.