Dubai: The Expo 2020 Dubai site and the roads leading to it have turned into a green oasis with Dubai Municipality completing landscaping projects covering over 2 million square metres of area.
The civic body on Thursday announced the completion of the landscaping projects at a cost of Dh205m. The projects cover an area of over two million square metres and include the extension of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, the Expo Street and Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Street in the direction of the Expo 2020 Dubai site.
More than 20,000 trees were used to form a green belt along the roadsides of the area, and over four million seedlings were planted around the roads leading to the venue. Approximately two million seedlings were also planted at the site of the mega event.
Vertical farming
Dawoud Al Hajri, director general of Dubai Municipality, said: “Dubai Municipality uses cutting-edge technologies and the vertical farming method to implement its landscaping projects across the city. Our plan is to expand our greenery drive to cover all the areas in Dubai including open spaces, roads and public parks. By expanding the green areas, we will be able to achieve the sustainability of the horticultural sector, improve air quality and boost the community’s mental and physical health.”
Al Hajri highlighted Dubai Municipality’s efforts to enhance the aesthetic appearance and beauty of the area leading to the Expo 2020 Dubai site, through implementing best practices in a way that lives up to the status of the mega international event.
As part of the project, Dubai Municipality extended 58km of the main irrigation lines and 234km of the sub-lines. Three main pumping stations and three concrete tanks were also established to store irrigation water. Planting around the exhibition site was carried out at a length of about 21km, Al Hajri noted.
Dubai Parks Entrance
The landscaping project by Dubai Municipality also covered key landmarks near the Expo 2020 Dubai site, including the entrance to Dubai Parks, at a total area of 177,123 square meters.
Steel landscaping works extended over an area of around 109,000 square meters. Additionally, the main irrigation lines were extended by 10.3km and sub-lines by 60.1km.
A pumping station with a concrete tank for irrigation water was also constructed at a value of around Dh40 million.
The landscaping work included planting 24,474 trees, 65,000 shrubs, 1,541,710 square meters of soil covers, and 50,107 square meters of cactus plants, another 2,707,912 square meters of soil covers, 5,049 meters of fences, 76,671 square meters of green spaces, around 847,000 square meters of gravel, and 3,118 square meters of climbers.
