Contractors submit bids for Expo construction work

26 January 2017

Thematic district will be used for main exhibition areas

The Expo 2020 Bureau has received bids from companies for the contract to build the Thematic District at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai.

The estimated AED2bn ($544m) project is split into three packages and involves building a basement and the main exhibition platform for the Expo, which starts on 20 October 2020. The work also includes completing buildings on a shell and core basis for facilities serving the exhibition area. The fast track project is scheduled to be completed in 24 months.

Contractors were asked to help arrange the financing for the project.

There are several major construction packages out to tender for work at the Expo site. Contractors are preparing to submit bids in mid-February for the deal to build the UAE Pavilion.

The pavilion is expected to cover up to 15,000 square metres and will include numerous exhibition areas, an auditorium, food and beverage outlets, and VIP lounges. It will be located facing Al-Wasl Plaza, which lies at the centre of the 2 million-sq-m exhibition zone.

The UAE’s National Media Council (NMC) selected Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s falcon-inspired design for the UAE Pavilion in May last year. There will be other pavilions built by UAE clients at the Expo site. Dubai appointed the UK’s Foster+Partners and Grimshaw Architects, and Denmark’s Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to design three other pavilions.

The Expo site is one of Dubai’s most high-profile projects and includes a 1.68-square-kilometre ticketed area.

The UK’s Laing O’Rourke was selected for the contract to build the Project Star mixed-use development at the Expo site in October last year. Contractors have also submitted bids for construction work on the Expo Village residential development, and the project’s infrastructure.

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