$8.7 billion Expo 2020 budget is realistic
Infrastructure tenders for Expo 2020 to be released Q1 2015
Tenders for infrastructure developments to be undertaken for the World Expo 2020 will be issued in the first quarter of 2015, according to Dubai Media Office (DMO).
DMO is the official broadcaster for the Dubai Government. On its Twitter account, @DXBMediaOffice, DMO quoted a report by local Arabic-language daily Al Bayan which said the focus of tenders issued next year will be infrastructure projects.
Reem Al Hashimi, Minister of State and managing director for the Dubai World Expo 2020 Bid Committee said  infrastructure investment for Expo 2020 is expected to cost between $6.2 billion and $8.7 billion, as per a report by Gulf News.
Al Hashimi said the budget is a “realistic” one.
“It’s a series of different funding mechanisms and portfolios”, Al Hashimi said when asked about how the funds for the infrastructure developments would be procured.
“There’s obviously interest from the private sector already. There’s going to be a government commitment that will contribute,” she said.
“This is a UAE national project,” Al Hashimi replied, when asked if government funding would be made by Dubai or from a federal level.
Al Hashimi had previously also claimed that Expo 2020 would be the “greenest” in the event’s history.
Speaking at the commencement of the World Green Economy Summit 2014 in Dubai, Al Hashimi had said the UAE government will focus on sustainability as it advances with its future infrastructure and construction plans.
“The premise and promise to focus on sustainability is for the long-term in the UAE,” she had remarked.
“One of the reasons our message resonated with the international community is because they recognised that energy – which is a key component for their development – cannot depend on traditional resources, and has to be sourced from renewable sources.
“It is critical that what we deliver in 2020 is sustainable, but the timeline preceding the delivery must carry the same message and legacy of sustainability and mobility that the Expo 2020 itself will. We hope to do this by building research institutions within the expo site which will keep the message alive and strong for generations to come,” Al Hashimi had added.
