Lush greenery, fountains set to welcome Expo visitors
dubai — With Expo construction work in full swing, Dubai’s ecovision is coming to life: It is turning a 4.38sq-km swath of desert land into an oasis full of greenery and water.
It’s going to be an artistic, nature scenery, which is being constructed in the most eco-friendly ways. Dubai has cooperated with the Dubai Municipality in creating sustainable greenery and limiting the use of water throughout the construction. Expo 2020 Dubai has adopted water consumption systems and has been reusing different water sources, such as wastewater, air-conditioning water, groundwater discharge, and seasonal surface water flows.
Ahmed Al Khateeb, CEO of development and real estate development at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “The Expo will not only feature buildings and pavilions that will impress visitors, but also trails, fountains and parks that will capture their attention.”
The event’s location will feature large areas for open-air celebrations, decorated by plants that rely on drip irrigation techniques. These include Al Fursan Park that accommodates 2,500 people and the Jubilee Park that can accommodate 15,000.
Al Khateeb said the Expo allocated an area of 220,000 square metres to a nursery for plants and trees. Some 12,157 trees, including palm trees, will be planted, along with over 256,000 shrubs and thousands of flowering plants and herbs, in cooperation with the Dubai Municipality.
Solar-powered lights were installed along the main road and the nursery’s team relies exclusively on organic fertilisers and recycles the nursery’s waste.
Treated wastewater, provided by the Dubai Municipality, is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs, and clean drinking water is used only during the first stages of plant development, Al Khateeb explained.
Taleb Abdulkareem Jilfar, executive director of the infrastructure services division at the Dubai Municipality, highlighted the cooperation between the municipality and the Expo team in many areas, such as landscaping.
The cost of the Expo’s irrigation and landscaping projects is estimated to be over Dh277 million, according to Jilfar.
An area of 3.57 square kilometres is expected to be ready before the official launch of the exhibition in October 2020. And the municipality has already delivered 863,117 plants, valued at more than Dh22.5 million.
Jilfar considers the project a significant addition to the landscape of the area, where trees will serve as a green barrier and reduce the amount of sand and dust in the air.
Water is a rare natural resource in the UAE, and around 42 percent of its drinking water is obtained through desalination. In line with ‘UAE Water Security Strategy 2036’, the Expo drafted its water strategy, focusing on reducing the consumption of potable water by using non-drinkable water for cleaning and irrigation. —