UAE Selects Consultants As World Expo Bid Gathers Pace

The UAE has appointed two international consultancies to help develop the proposed site masterplan for the 2020 World Expo in Dubai.

Real estate expert Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has been mandated to carry out a site analysis and legacy masterplan review, the UAE’s official Expo 2020 team said in a statement.

As part of this feasibility study, JLL will develop a long-term land use plan for the 438 hectare site– called Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali– and its surrounding areas.

Construction company Mace, which served as a delivery partner for the infrastructure of the London 2012 Olympics, has been appointed to assist with cost management and planning.

Helal Saeed Al Marri, member of the Higher Committee for Hosting the 2020 World Expo in Dubai, said: “By partnering with the most expert firms from across the globe, we will ensure that Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali serves as an ideal site to host the 2020 Expo – and as a permanent attraction, contributing to the city’s long-term appeal as a premier destination for global events.”

JLL and Mace will work along with the international architectural and design firms currently working on the site masterplan, said the statement.

HOK, Populous and Arup are the architecture and design firms working on the site. The entertainment masterplan, under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ is being designed by Thinkwell.

The UAE’s bid to host the Expo may cost up to $4 billion, Reem Al Hashimy, managing director of the Higher Committee for Hosting the World Expo 2020, recently told official news agency WAM.

Dubai is competing against four other candidate cities bidding to host the 2020 World Expo, including Ayutthaya (Thailand), Ekaterinburg (Russia), Izmir (Turkey), and Sao Paulo (Brazil).

The winning city will be announced in November 2013 following a vote by the 160 member nations of the Bureau International des Expositions, the intergovernmental organisation in charge of overseeing the World Expos.