UAE leaders launch the heart of Expo 2020 Dubai site - Al Wasl Plaza

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, last night inaugurated Al Wasl Plaza, the heart of the Expo 2020 Dubai site.

Speaking on the occasion, they said that under the leadership of President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE has consolidated its status as a leader in the global arena.

The country is a perfect host for Expo 2020, which will promote optimism, hope and collaboration and inspire people to work towards achieving positive change and a better future, they added.

"We will celebrate the accomplishments of the last 50 years. Thanks to the efforts of UAE citizens and residents, as well as all those who have contributed to its success and prosperity, Expo 2020 will mark the start of new 50-year phase of leadership and achievements," remarked Sheikh Mohammed.

"We are working to implement our vision as part of our comprehensive development plan, whose key objective is the happiness of people. Our efforts are backed by initiatives and projects aimed at maximising the energy and talent of our people and creating new opportunities for them," stated the Premier.

"We work with all countries and governments keen to promote the prosperity and wellbeing of humanity. In a few months, the world will gather in this place to celebrate the cultures of various nations across the world and humankind’s best innovations. Expo 2020 will offer new hope for creating a better tomorrow both for the region and the world," he added.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said: "Through Expo 2020, we will show the world how our union was the starting point for our development journey, and how our founding fathers established the robust foundations necessary for sustainable development and progress."

"We will also have an opportunity to demonstrate how the spirit of collaboration is embedded deep in our national ethos and serves as a means for progress and development. The world will also be able to better understand the achievements we have accomplished in the short period since our nation’s foundation, and will learn about our traditions and heritage, our diversity and our experience of peaceful coexistence," he stated.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed were briefed about Al Wasl Plaza and the preparations to welcome the 192 participating countries and millions of visitors to Expo, said the mega event's organisers.

They were also updated on the various phases of Expo completed in 2019 including major construction projects developed under the three sub-themes of the event. The entire project has achieved 150 million working hours and has 38,000 people currently working on site, they stated.

The duo later toured Al Wasl Plaza and also visited the Expo headquarters and "Terra", the sustainability pavilion, where they were briefed about the pavilion that showcases the ingenuity and possibility of architecture as the Emirati society looks for intelligent strategies for sustainable future living.

The pavilion, which approximately covers 25,000 sq m, has 6,300 sq m of exhibition space. It has been designed to be a net zero energy and net zero water building, which means the pavilion generates all of its own power and water needs, said the event organisers.

The pavilion has more than 1,050 solar panels arranged on its 130-metre wide canopy and on the locally-designed energy trees (e-trees) that dot the landscape and rotate to face the sun like a sunflower. These can produce four gigawatt hours of electricity per year and have the capacity to charge 890,000 mobile phones, they added.-TradeArabia News Service