DUBAI, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Tuesday that the Expo 2020 Dubai scheduled from October 2020 to April 2021 will lift the city's transport and energy infrastructure to a higher level.
The remarks were made by Reem Al-Hashimi, minister of State and Managing Director of Dubai Expo 2020, on the annual Dubai International Project Management Forum.
"As over 150 countries have announced they will definitely participate, Expo 2020 will function as a catalyst for the economy, as mega-events like the Olympics usually have," she said.
As the first world expo in the Arab world, it will be held under the theme "connecting minds and creating the future," Al-Hashimi noted.
"It is demanding all planning resources, from transport to real estate construction, from the port facilities in Dubai's free port zone Jebel Ali to the roads around the Expo site in the southwest of Dubai near Al Maktoum International Airport," the minister explained.
The expo district, which is under construction, will cover an area of 65,000 square meters, she added.
Dubai, with a total population of around 2.8 million, aims to attract 20 to 25 million tourists by 2020-2021, up from 14.9 million registered overnight visitors last year.
"Although we are all connected through the worldwide web and social media, exchanging ideas face-to-face is still important today and in the future, this is what the expo will be all about," said Al-Hashimi.
The Dubai expo will focus on how people's lives will change amid the rise of internet of things, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and the widespread introduction of robots at home and the workplace, she added.
Mattar Al-Tayer, chairman and director general of the Dubai roads and transport authority RTA, said the Dubai Metro will be expanded by 50 kilometers as the city is constructing the Route 2020 to connect the Dubai Expo 2020 district with the existing metro lines.
In addition, the city aims to increase the share of clean energy in total power output to seven percent by 2020, said Saeed Al-Tayer, chief executive officer of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
Earlier last month, research and intelligence firm BNC Network said it estimates the combined value of all projects related to Dubai Expo 2020 has reached 122 billion dirhams (32.9 billion U.S. dollars), UAE daily Khaleej Times reported.
