By Dominic Beales
With less than 850 days to go, the Dubai Expo 2020 site is progressing at an incredible rate. With iconic UAE-based clients like DWTC, Emaar, Meraas, Masdar and RTA all heavily involved thus far, now is the time for Expo Participants from all over the world to enter the fray. The past six months have seen nations securing their plots on the Expo site; home for six months between Oct 2020 and Apr 2021 while they showcase the very best of themselves to the world.
Such activity is creating real opportunities in the market as the search for new and exciting technologies gathers pace. Take the UK Pavilion as an example. With Gold Medals awarded to the UK Pavilion at the previous two World Expos, the expectations for the UK to deliver a best-in-class visitor experience under its 2020 theme Innovating for a shared Future could not be any higher.
And it’s not all about design. The UK Pavilion will aim to support the UK’s significant commercial interests which include those of the thousands of companies already operating in the UAE, and of course the thousands yet to dip their toes into the market.
The Expo 2020 Team are doing their part too, with the forthcoming launch of their Online Marketplace platform later this year. The platform’s specific focus on maximising SME spend on this mega-project, will offer British SMEs the opportunity to engage directly with the main contractors and clients working on the Expo site as we speak.
Now is the time to register on the Expo 2020 Procurement Portal, where tenders are live right now. With both project support and market entry advice available in Dubai for those with something to offer, the opportunities may just be too good to miss.
Dominic Beales is a Trade and Investment Adviser for the Department for International Trade