The plan by Dubai’s World Expo 2020 to award 47 construction contracts valued at Dh11 billion this year is exactly the kind of post-oil economic planning the UAE needs. The organisation is leading the way for other UAE agencies and businesses into a future economy that will sustain the UAE for generations.
The UAE has shown repeatedly that its strategy of “if we build, they will come” pays off. From the Jumeirah Palm to Global Village, investments into iconic buildings and events have created attractive and sustainable economic activity across the emirate.
Such investments are now more important than ever. While the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to stabilise and rebalance the oil markets, it is unlikely that oil prices will ever return to the price levels of the past decade. The UAE must find ways to continue to develop new business and economic growth based on sustainable industry, such as tourism, events, manufacturing and innovative technology.
Expo 2020, which will be hosted for the first time in the Middle East, is expected to accelerate growth in the city to more than 5 per cent by 2020, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund. “We are committed to working with leading businesses from across the world in order to deliver an exceptional event of this scale, on time and on budget,” Reem Al Hashemi, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of the Dubai Expo 2020, said.
It is also important the investment into these events target the small and medium businesses of the UAE. Just last week, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the UAE would always be proactive in launching constructive initiatives and in implementing strategies that support entrepreneurs and that this would help bolster an environment that encourages the establishment, growth and sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The Dubai Government is currently planning to boost the contribution of SMEs to the economy from 40 per cent to 45 per cent by 2021.
Expo 2020 should be congratulated for its efforts into making sure SMEs are included in its tendering process. Two-thirds of the 12,000 companies registered on Expo 2020 e-sourcing portal are SMEs, who have so far won 43 per cent of the contracts — twice the organisation’s target.
