Dubai: Dubai's expo sector, a major revenue earner for the emirate, yesterday received its biggest endorsement with the announcement of a Dh16 billion redevelopment of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) site that will host 40 skyscrapers when completed.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Industry and Chairman of the Dubai World Trade Centre, approved a new masterplan for the redevelopment of the DWTC complex at a meeting of its board of directors on Monday.
"Dubai has cemented its position as the premier Middle East conference and exhibitions centre. I confidently expect this development to enjoy a tremendous response from exhibitions and conventions organisers worldwide and will play a major role in Dubai's and the UAE's success story," Shaikh Hamdan said.
The new plan, still in the conceptual stage, will cover the existing site and stretch to the Emirates Towers.
"The existing facilities at the DWTC site will gradually be demolished and redeveloped," a DWTC spokesman told Gulf News.
"The Trade Centre Residences will be demolished and new towers will be built in phases. The entire project will be a mixed-use development with a combination of hotels, exhibition halls, residences, shopping arcades and office towers built over a period of 7-10 years."
DWTC tower, which remains one of 'old Dubai's' landmarks, will remain. However, Shaikh Rashid Hall, the country's largest convention centre built ahead of the World Bank and IMF conference in 2003, is likely to be replaced with an advanced and larger convention facility.
It will also include the Landmark Tower to be situated on Shaikh Zayed Road by the Emirates Towers, shopping outlets, residential complexes, parking facilities and links to the Dubai Light Rail metro system.
In terms of investment, the project surpasses the Dh15 billion expansion of the Dubai International Airport and joins Dubai's mega projects club that includes Dubai Waterfront, Palm Deira, Jebel Ali Airport City and Dubailand.
The annoucement comes amid growing concerns among organisers of large exhibitions, Index, the Big 5, Arabian Travel Market and Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex) as they have outgrown the capacity of the existing venue that houses eight exhibition halls, a large convention hall, two hotels and two office towers.
Shaikh Hamdan also directed the DWTC Board to increase the current exhibition capacity by 30 per cent within a year, in order to meet the surging demand for exhibition space.
Meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) sector is one of the largest contributors to Dubai's growing tourism industry, that accounts for more than 18 per cent of Dubai's Dh110 billion GDP.
"Both projects (DWTC redevelopment and Dubai Exhibition City) will provide a tremendous boost to Dubai's position as the main conference and exhibitions hub for the region and a leader in the MICE industry," Shaikh Hamdan said.
The announcement comes at a time when the government is building a new expo facility under Dubai Exhibition City that will be part of the Jebel Ali Airport City. The Exhibition City will provide 120,000 square metres of space upon completion of phase one in 2009.
"Meetings and conventions contributes 40 per cent to our tourism industry," Awadh Al Seghayer, director of Dubai Convention Bureau (DCV), told Gulf News recently.
