Expo 2020 will drive sustainable growth in Dubai
Expo 2020 has all the makings of a winner. When Dubai won the bid to host the global event six years ago, it was sending a message to the world that it would continue to build and make people welcome. The city has scope for expansion — for people and projects while it invites fresh capital This metropolis will remain a global transit and tourism hub for a long time to come as it remains open for business. There are also new areas of growth that have to be explored. In this context, the UAE’s diversification masterplan fits well with the city’s ambitions that make it the ideal setting for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Through the Expo the city believes it has an opportunity to present itself as a global centre from which innovations and ideas flow. The emirate’s decision to pitch for the event has been well thought out and nicely timed. According to an
Ernst & Young report, the event and its legacy will contribute around Dh122.6 billion gross value to the
UAE’s economy during
2013 to 2031.
The leadership had much foresight when it bid for the event in 2013 and their pitch has been rewarded with these figures which will silence the naysayers and critics who have tried to play down the city’s achievements. What’s remarkable is the city’s ability to weather the storms and come out with flying colours. The mega fair is expected to generate around 905,200 full-time equivalent job-years, or 49,700 full-time jobs per annum during from 2013 to 2031, according to the report. Only last month, the city issued 2,500 business licences, a growth of 35.4 per cent over the same period last year; 9,661 jobs were created. There’s more. FDI inflows jumped 41 per cent in to reach Dh38.5 billion last year. These created 25,000 jobs, an increase of 77 per cent over the 14,065 jobs the previous year. It vindicates the leadership’s stand that development is all about creating employment and a sustainable future for people. By picking the right investments and events to host, Dubai is on a winning streak. The best is yet to be for the city of the future.
The city has an opportunity to present itself as a global centre of innovation