A city of the future is Expo 2020’s proud legacy
Expo 2020 set a new benchmark for future mega-events in terms of legacy and sustainability.
RLB’s cost management experts had a key role in the project’s success, balancing the challenges of hosting the first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region while creating inclusive and enduring places for the vibrant new centre of Dubai.
By Tafadzwa Mukaro
Associate Director, RLB in Dubai
Welcome to Expo City Dubai – a thriving, growing and integrated community where people are flocking to live and work.
The city is forward-thinking, responsible development in action, proof that mega-events can have a positive and lasting social, economic and environmental impact.
The sites of previous expos and major sporting events have often been left abandoned and overgrown once the crowds have gone.
With Expo City Dubai, the planners got it right. Serving as a blueprint for sustainable urban living, it retains 80% of Expo 2020-built infrastructure, after having hosted 24 million visitors across the six-month event.
Under the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, the community will expand to cover a total area of 3.5 sq km and be home to around 35,000 residents and 40,000 professionals.
For me and my colleagues at RLB’s Dubai office, we feel privileged to have played a part in delivering this legacy.
New heart of Dubai
Historically, Dubai was a fishing village and small trading port, a part of the city that is today known as Old Dubai. As the city started to develop, it expanded along the coast, and then inland. As this southward expansion continues apace, Expo City is fast becoming the new centre of Dubai’s future.
Designed according to 15-minute city planning principles, it integrates homes and offices with public amenities, event venues, green spaces and smart transport infrastructure. It is also the UAE’s first Green Innovation District, incubating enterprises and start-ups driving the nation’s green economy.
Expo City’s growth offers opportunities for businesses and investors looking to take advantage of its prime location and world-class connectivity. Nearby Al Maktoum International Airport will eventually have five runways and become the world’s largest hub in terms of capacity.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Project: Expo City Dubai
Location: Dubai, UAE
Client: Expo City Dubai
Total area: Expo 2020 Dubai – 438 hectares; Expo City Dubai – 3.5 sq km
OUR CLIENT SAYS...
“I was delighted to have the RLB consultants embedded within my team – their professionalism and commitment helped contribute to the success of the World Expo, and I’m grateful for their contributions to our cost management and procurement activities as part of the overlay programme.”
Anis Tabka, Senior Vice President of Procurement & Contracts, Expo City Dubai (held the same role at Expo 2020)
Focus on legacy planning
We supported Expo 2020 from its earliest beginnings, with legacy being a constant focus from the pre-planning stage and throughout design and construction. We had two objectives which we worked towards in parallel: to help deliver a great event and a great legacy.
Delivering the 182-day mega-event, while keeping one eye fixed on the future of the site, required careful planning and costing.
In our role as cost consultants, we supported Expo 2020’s Procurement & Contracts and Overlay departments in assessing sourcing options, overseeing tenders, monitoring costs and managing contracts. Expo 2020’s robust compliance and management structures and bespoke software systems helped us to deliver works on time and ensure we were embedding sustainability into every aspect of the project.
End-to-end cost management
We provided full cost management services for the overlay programme – essentially, all the temporary structures and facilities that are needed to stage a major event. At the same time, we procured a number of contractors to support the Overlay team in delivering works for the buildings and infrastructure that would form part of Expo City Dubai.
Whatever we were working on, at whatever stage, we would always ask ourselves: "Is this the most sustainable option and is it fulfilling the legacy vision of the client?"
We overcame the scale and timeline challenges by drawing on our proven experience of providing end-to-end cost management for events such as the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
A flexible, collaborative approach, as embodied in RLB’s culture and values, also enabled our team to adapt to every situation and maintain strong relationships with multiple stakeholders, vital for a project of this magnitude.
Al Wasl Plaza
The iconic structure at the centre of Expo City Dubai is Al Wasl Plaza, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of Expo 2020.
The building’s massive steel trellis dome, which spans 130 metres and stands more than 67 metres tall, houses the award-winning 360-degree projection surface. Named after the Arabic word for ‘connection’, this unique space will be bringing people together for decades to come.
Al Wasl Plaza challenged us as cost managers because nothing like it had ever been built before. From the outset, we worked closely with the design team and the supply chain to identify the right solution and cost everything accurately. This involved trialling and testing many of the dome’s bespoke construction elements and innovative audio-visual technologies.
What’s more, we were working to super-tight deadlines – and in the middle of a pandemic!
“We had two objectives which we worked towards in parallel: to help deliver a great event and a great legacy. Delivering the 182-day mega-event, while keeping one eye fixed on the future of the site, required careful planning and costing.”
Supporting local businesses
A key legacy objective was for Expo 2020 to create jobs and drive inclusive economic growth, with the Procurement & Contracts department tasked with awarding 20% spend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This objective was exceeded, with Expo 2020 achieving 26.8% spend through SMEs.
As part of our support to the Expo 2020 team, we advised SMEs on how to adapt so they could meet the technical and professional requirements for the mega-event, and how they could benefit from Expo’s favourable procurement processes for SMEs.
Many of these firms have since grown and prospered and are helping to drive the high level of economic activity evident in UAE today.
Vision becomes reality
I always tell people Expo 2020 is one of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever worked on because I was fortunate enough to not just play a part in its delivery, but I was able to interact with visitors during the event and see how it made everyone happy. I could also see how important it was to the nation to be hosting the first-ever World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Today the long-term vision behind it is coming to fruition. When friends and family come to visit, I often take them to Expo City Dubai to see all the amazing structures and the additional development that is now taking place.
There is so much going on with concerts, cultural events and sports activities. The place is alive and buzzing.
It’s a legacy that everyone who contributed to the project can be proud of.
About the author
Tafadzwa Mukaro
Tafadzwa Mukaro, who opted for a career in cost management because “it struck the perfect balance between legal (my first interest), commercial and engineering disciplines”, joined RLB after graduating from the University of Cape Town. He has worked in the Middle East for 11 years and is now an Associate Director at our Dubai office.
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