Expo 2020 a big opportunity for UK companies

Carillion group director for international and development Shaun Carter, UKTI HVO specialist Shakir Khaja, head of Business Development UK Export Finance Ali Sherwani and MEED’s editorial director Richard Thompson during a panel discussion at ‘Great Week UAE’ event on Tuesday.

The conference was held as part of ‘Great Week UAE’ by UK Trade and Investment in Dubai on Tuesday. It was opened with a keynote address by Sir John Armitt, chairman, Olympics Delivery Authority. Armitt talked about London Olympics 2012 from winning to delivery of the games and challenges faced from locating the site for the games to finish line.

He mentioned that there was fixed deadline for the games like Expo 2020 in Dubai. British companies have proved their expertise at home and other places where big events held during the last couple of years and they have great opportunities here in Dubai as well.

It is estimated that Dubai authorities will invest more than Dh30 billion in new infrastructure including road network to the expo site and metro link as well.

The mega exhibition would increase Dubai’s economic growth by 0.5 percentage points per year and two percentage points in 2020, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch report. The report also put the total cost of financing the expo at $8.4 billion, or 8.9 per cent of gross domestic production, or GDP.

In his address at the conference, MEED news editor Colin Foreman talked about real estate projects in GCC and particularly Dubai projects related with the Expo2020.

Foreman said Expo 2020 will drive about a $6.9 billion of direct capital investment in infrastructure and a further $1.6 billion of investment in the emirate’s tourism and leisure industry.

Expo 2020 is forecast to drive growth of about 6.5 per cent in the next three years, rising to 10 per cent a year from 2017 to 2020, according to Foreman.

He said that Dubai government is likely to finance the Expo 2020 projects through a mixed of bond issues, bank borrowing, and cash raised from assets disposals and profits from Dubai Inc. businesses.

Later, a panel discussion at the conference also talked about opportunities available for UK companies in the expo-related projects.

UKTI HVO specialist Shakir Khaja said: “Opportunity is here, but it’s important to choose right opportunity as we all share on same plate.”

Carillion group director for International Development Shaun Carter said supply chain is a big opportunity for British companies. Carter said that Dubai already has a world-class infrastructure to host the mega event.

Expo 2020 is expected to create more than 277,000 jobs in the country. It is also estimated that 40 per cent of jobs would be in the hospitality sector and 30 per cent in construction.