Dubai’s vast Expo 2020 site is to reopen as Expo City Dubai, a “city of the future” with housing, businesses, and leisure facilities, officials said on Monday.
The event on Dubai’s borders, purpose-built at $7 billion for that six-month Expo that was carried out in March, will host offices for Dubai port operator DP World and German conglomerate Siemens.
“Today, we announce the transformation from the exhibition site into Expo City Dubai, a brand new city that is representative of the most amazing ambitions of Dubai,” the emirate’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated in a statement.
Dubai announces the opening of Expo City Dubai, a “city of the future”
“Expo City Dubai is going to be an eco-friendly city, one friendly to families, towards the economy, and also to generations to come.”
80 percent of the original infrastructure and structures will stay, such as the falcon-themed UAE pavilion and Al-Wasl Dome, the Expo centerpiece illuminated by colorful projections.
In addition to DP World and Siemens, it’ll house “start-ups and medium and small-sized enterprises”, the announcement stated without giving further details. No figures are received about how much housing or workplace can be obtained.
Sheikh Mohammed’s office stated the brand new area, which opens on October 1 and was formerly billed as “District 2020”, is going to be “driven by sustainability, innovation, education, and entertainment”. Single-use plastic is going to be banned.
Organizers stated that Expo’s 192 country pavilions came 24 million visits, regardless of the coronavirus pandemic that delayed the big event by a year.
Expo became a member of a summary of attention-grabbing projects in Dubai, the UAE’ commercial center hosts the world’s tallest building, the 830-meter (2,723 ft) Burj Khalifa.