DUBAI // A massive dome with trellis framework is being designed as the structure that will dominate the Expo 2020 site in Dubai South.
The design plans for Al Wasl Plaza were unveiled on Monday and showed a dome that would double up as a 360-degree screen at night, projecting images to thousands of visitors both inside and outside.
Built of light, translucent material, the dome – 65 metres tall with a diameter of 150m – will hold an estimated 10,000 visitors, said Ahmed Al Khatib, vice president of property at Expo 2020 Dubai.
A public tender would be released soon for Al Wasl Plaza, for which building will be completed by the end of 2019.
Filled with fountains, waterfalls, parks and palm-lined courtyards, the dome will be partly open to the sky at the top.
“Al Wasl is a significant area because it means ‘connection’ in Arabic and is the historical name for Dubai, and it aims to be a link between the east and west even in the Expo,” Mr Al Khatib said.
“It will be a central hub linking all three thematic pavilions of sustainability, opportunity and mobility.”
Infrastructure work on the Expo 2020 site will be completed by July 2018 and heavy construction will be finished by October 2019.
While a cost estimate for the plaza would be available after the tender was granted, the theme areas on the site will cost about Dh2.2 billion.
Described as the last major design element at the centre of the 4.38-square kilometre site, it will be developed alongside other locations such as the themed pavilions.
The high domed trellis was inspired by the shape of the Expo 2020 Dubai logo, a 4,000-year-old gold ring discovered during excavations in the Sarouq Al Hadeed archaeological site in the desert.
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) beat global competition to win the contract for the plaza. Adrian Smith was a design partner on the team that designed the Burj Khalifa.
“We are creating a space that will be an architectural landmark not just for the six months of Expo but long into the future,” said Gordon Gill, design partner at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.
The plaza will be a staging area for events throughout Expo 2020 Dubai and will continue after the world fair ends in 2021.
“This will be the main area receiving visitors from the metro station and the UAE pavilion will overlook it,” Mr Al Khatib said.
“The design is flexible so small and large events can be held here. It can also be used for National Day activities and festivities. Past the expo, the area inside will also be used as a natural garden because the light materials used will not allow heat and radiation to enter. Traditionally expo sites were built temporarily and then demolished. But we have a post-expo team with a clear plan for its usage.”
Apart from renewable energy that will be produced from the solar panel canopy of the pavilions, water from sinks and showers will also be used for irrigation.
On the vast site off the Jebel Ali - Lehbab road, a 75-year old goaf tree stands on a large mound of sand as workers in cranes level the surrounding area and storm water pipes are laid. The tree will be retained as part of the project,
The UAE national flag has been raised on the section earmarked for the country’s pavilion.
Columns have been cast for the Dubai Metro and three power plants under construction will be operational by the year-end. Construction is also on for logistic support for the expo village that will be the first to be completed.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
