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Razed pavilions being raised

Organisers of the pavilion said that Global Village management had extended its support to ensure that all will be back to business within the next few days, and that activities will continue till March 31.

“Our pavilion under construction and we hope to open by Tuesday. Most of the exhibitors are willing to continue participating in the Global Village, although 10 per cent of them don't have additional stocks to sell. The factories are closed in China as they are preparing for the Chinese New Year celebrations,” Xu Xiaoping, organiser of the Chinese Pavilion, told Khaleej Times yesterday.

He said that over Dh1 million was spent for the construction of the Chinese pavilion, although details about the insurance for the structure are yet to be discussed with the Global Village management.

Spread over 2,500 square metres, the Chinese pavilion comprises 120 stalls. About 110 stalls were damaged by the fire, which broke out due to an electrical short circuit in the Nepalese pavilion and spread to neighbouring pavilions of China and Jordan.

“We were left with only seven to eight stalls. The Global Village management, however, allowed our participants to temporarily set up tables in front of the pavilion and continue selling their products,” Ziaoping said.

Ibrahim Abdul Rahim, Global Village director, told Khaleej Times, that he had scheduled a meeting with the insurance company yesterday, and will later meet with the organisers of the three country pavilions. “We want to assure you that we have start rebuilding the three pavilions which will all be ready in a few days. By Monday, the Nepalese pavilion will be completed, while the Jordanian pavilion will be almost ready tomorrow,” he said.

Aasha Lama, organiser of the Nepalese pavilion, said that the total cost of setting up the Nepalese pavilion was Dh400,000. “The gates are completely gone. The facade had wood carvings from Nepal. There were also stone-carvings and a peacock on the stage. It's so tragic to lose everything in the fire,” she said.

Lama added: “Of the 35 stalls, 28 of them are all gone. We don't have any products to sell. There are two to three stalls, which are intact, but their goods can't be sold. The carpets, pashminas and shawls were all damaged. We've also lost some expensive Thanka paintings and silver jewellery in the fire. Worse, we are unable to contact Nepal for shipment of goods to Dubai since all communication lines had been cut off since last Tuesday.”

Meanwhile, Salem Ahmed Salem, organiser of the Jordanian pavilion said that the 1,000-sqm pavilions with 54 stalls were completely damaged by the fire. “We have not calculated the amount of the damage. The construction of the pavilion started yesterday and we hope to have it ready by Tuesday.

All the exhibitors at the Jordanian pavilion have agreed to continue selling their products until March 31. We would like to thank General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, as well as Ibrahim Abdul Rahim, the Global Village director,” he said.

• UAE