Dubai: Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of DTCM and CEO of Dubai World Trade Centre, talks about the proposed site for Expo 2020 in Dubai.
Can you tell us more about the proposed Expo 2020 site?
The Expo site has been carefully chosen to reflect the 2020 Expo theme of ‘Connectivity’ while providing the best possible operational and logistical efficiencies for participants, easy access for all visitors, and a high level of international visibility.
The 438-hectare ‘Dubai Trade Centre – Jebel Ali’ is one of the largest sites proposed for a World Expo and one of the most seamlessly accessible: a custom bonded Sea-Air logistics corridor that will allow rapid transit of people from airports and ports in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The site is located next to the new Al Maktoum International Airport and in close proximity to Jebel Ali Port. Equidistant between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, it is 30 minutes from Dubai International Airport and 40 minutes from Abu Dhabi International Airport.
How has sustainability been incorporated into the site design?
With The Green Economy Initiative, launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and in January last year, the government has demonstrated its commitment to making the UAE a pioneer in the green economy and to preserving a sustainable environment that supports long-term economic growth. Both the bid to host Expo 2020 and the master plan for the proposed Expo site have been designed in line with this commitment.
Sustainability is a core sub-theme of the Expo and therefore it is a core tenet of the site design, the operations of the Expo and the delivery of the Expo experience. Each aspect of environmental impact — energy, water, waste, materials, public realm and sustainability awareness — has been addressed in the master plan, and formulated in accordance with international best practice. Our sustainability agenda is too detailed to go into here but a few examples are:
• Supplying a substantial amount of the Expo Site’s energy needs over the event’s six-month duration with energy from renewable sources. This includes making Dubai Expo 2020 ‘solar-centric’ by integrating photovoltaic panels throughout the site — for example in building facades, shading structures and street lighting — and encouraging participants to integrate the panels into their own pavilion designs.
• Adopting a three pronged approach to water usage: reduced demand, efficient use and re-use. For example, using indigenous plant species within the landscape design and using Treated Sewage Effluent for district cooling and irrigation.
• Using Expo 2020 to catalyse change in the waste management practices within the region, ensuring that not only does Expo 2020 limit its own contribution to landfill, it also creates a standard that other development projects and companies aim to match.
• Limiting the environmental impact of vehicles by using the latest advancements in sustainable transport systems. It is conceived that it will be largely a car-free site, with park-and-ride facilities and the ‘ExpoRider’ bus service acting as the main forms of transportation. The Dubai Metro Red Line will be extended to service the site and the master plan also includes a cable-car system which will enable visitors to circumnavigate the entire site.
• Considering the re-usage — and in some cases relocation — of the infrastructure and buildings, post-Expo. As a temporary event, the re-use of Expo assets is of fundamental importance and a core aspect of our legacy plans. It is intended that anchor structures such as the Welcome Pavilion, the Innovation Pavilion, the UAE Pavilion and the Theme Pavilions will be reconfigured and re-used once the event is concluded — as will shade structures, transport systems, trees, street furniture, lighting and paving materials.
• Encouraging the use of recycled and local materials.
Adopting tactics such as the above will ensure that the theme of Sustainability will not only be brought to life through the environment created and the experiences delivered throughout the Expo period, but also it will be part of the fabric of the site itself.
What will happen to the site after the Expo 2020?
Every aspect of the Master Plan has been designed with due consideration to its after-life and with a defined strategy for re-use.
The Expo Site itself will transform into the planned urban development at The Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali. Focused around a large exhibition centre, this will include an Institute zone featuring Research Centres and a University which will be created out of the Innovation Pavilion and the Theme Pavilions and will nurture long-term thought leadership across the three subthemes of Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity.
The UAE National Pavilion and Welcome Pavilion will be relocated and transformed into a National Museum that celebrates the history of the UAE as well as being a lasting testimonial to Dubai Expo 2020.
