Dubai has created a “new city” for Expo 2020 that would exist for decades, the head of the event told reporters, saying that most of the site would remain in use after the six-month world fair.
The US$7 billion, purpose-built showground occupies a vast site on Dubai’s outskirts, with hundreds of pavilions and exhibitions sprawling across an area twice the size of Monaco.
Thousands of people toured the fair on its opening day on Friday, braving hot temperatures as the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed world fair finally opened its doors one year late.
Photo: Bloomberg
Visitors strolled or rode electric bicycles around the huge showground. As temperatures touched 38°C, robot information systems buzzed down the shaded boulevards and formation jets plumed colored smoke overhead.
Dubai, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, is hoping to attract millions of visitors in a boost to its profile and standing during the fair. Visitor numbers were not immediately available for day one, but crowds were light and attendance appeared respectable rather than busy.
Expo 2020, which has sustainability as one of its main themes, wraps up in March.
However, Expo 2020 director-general Reem al-Hashimi said the lavish, largely air-conditioned development would not go to waste.
“It was never an investment to host an expo, it was an investment to create a new city that is equal distance between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and really the city of the future,” she said in an interview.
“That investment goes into a city to 2040, 2050 and beyond. In addition to that, we have also made a commitment not to dismantle all expo-related facilities,” she said.
“Everything that we’re building, a very large majority, over 90 percent or so, will actually remain for that future city,” she added.
The expo project is connected to the Dubai metro and lies en route to the capital, Abu Dhabi, the richest and most powerful of the emirates.
Expo is intended to draw millions of foreign visitors, but pandemic-related travel restrictions worldwide are likely to have a dampening effect.
Whether the 5G-enabled site thrives or languishes after the expo depends on what businesses can be persuaded to base themselves there.
“Given the focus on technology and sustainability, we’re looking to attract industries, residents that are inclined to operate in those spaces,” said al-Hashimi, who is also the Emirati minister of state for international cooperation.
“So in part we’re looking at industries related to climate or green technology if you will, a lot around ag-tech. There’s an interesting combination of new sectors that have emerged that we’re going to be able hopefully to capitalize on by having this expo,” she said.
The expo’s sustainability measures include Terra, an enormous, satellite dish-shaped construction that is powered by nearly 5,000 solar panels and recycles its own water.
There are also a number of activities on climate and biodiversity, an especially pressing topic in the oil-rich Persian Gulf, one of the world’s hottest regions.
“There was a real conscious decision when we laid out our people and planet program to look at how the expo activities ... could positively contribute,” al-Hashimi said.
“Large global events in general don’t look at long-term sustainable measures,” she added. “But given that this site will remain almost in its entirety, in legacy, then we are proud to be able to contribute to the larger sustainable agenda.”
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
WARNING SHOT: The US president has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles, and similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that a trade deal with China was “possible” — a key target in the US leader’s tariffs policy. The US in 2020 had already agreed to “a great trade deal with China” and a new deal was “possible,” Trump said. Trump said he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit the US, without giving a timeline for his trip. Trump also said that he was talking to China about TikTok, as the US seeks to broker a sale of the popular app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動). Trump last week said that he had
RSS