by Expo Events Consulting Expo Events Consulting

Dubai Municipality has delivered 863,117 plants ahead of October 2020 launch

The cost of Dubai Expo 2020’s irrigation and landscaping projects is expected to be over AED277 million ($75.4m).

Taleb Abdulkareem Jilfar, executive director of the Infrastructure Services Division at Dubai Municipality, revealed an area of 3.57 square kilometres is expected to be ready before the official launch of the exhibition in October 2020.

The municipality has delivered 863,117 plants, valued at more than AED22.5m ($6.1m), according to a report by Emirates News Agency (WAM).

The event’s location, which includes 86 multi-purpose buildings, will feature large areas for open-air celebrations, decorated by plants that rely on drip irrigation techniques, including the Al Fursan Park that accommodates 2,500 people, and the Jubilee Park that accommodates 15,000 people.

Ahmed Al Khateeb, CEO of Development and Real Estate Development at the 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, as well as the Al Wasl Dome, which will serve as a giant screen.”

Al Khateeb said that an area of 220,000 square metres has been allocated for a nursery with plants and trees, which will cultivate 12,157 trees, including palm trees, over 256,000 shrubs, thousands of flowering plants and herbs, in cooperation with Dubai Municipality.

He added that selected plants are either indigenous or are adaptable to Dubai’s environment, noting that expo has employed eco-friendly methods in the design and construction stages of the nursery – solar-powered lights were installed along the main road and the nursery’s team relies exclusively on organic fertilisers and recycle the nursery’s waste.

Treated wastewater provided by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs and clean drinking water is only used for seed development during the first stages of plant development, said Al Khateeb.