DUBAI // Preparation of the bid dossier for Expo 2020 and efforts to submit it to the organising committee of the world fairs in Paris by the summer have intensified.
It is estimated that 25 million people will visit the UAE during the Expo between 20 October, 2020 and 10 April, 2021.
Construction at the 150-hectare Expo within a 438-hectare site at Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali can begin only after the bid is registered with the Bureau of International Expositions.
The registration process should be completed by November.
The exhibition site is designed to accommodate up to 300,000 visitors.
Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales, BIE secretary general, who visited Dubai last December, will return to the Emirates for further discussions with planning officials.
The BIE team said they are pleased with the work of the Dubai Expo team and were confident the paperwork would be in on time.
“We have no doubt that a strong dossier will be submitted by the summer of 2015,” Mr Loscertales said.
The dossier will concern all aspects of the Expo, including development of the theme, the site, legislative procedures, financial measures, communications, promotions and legacy – use of the Expo infrastructure and facilities after 2020.
Dubai's winning bid, titled Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, covers the themes of mobility, sustainability and opportunity. The Expo will launch the UAE's golden jubilee celebrations.
After the registration process is complete, countries that accept the UAE’s invitation to participate in the Expo 2020 will appoint their official, representatives known as commissioners general.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
