Having hosted the largest global gathering since the onset of the pandemic, the Expo 2020 site is now set to be reimagined and repurposed to create a smart and sustainable district which will eventually house a population of 145,000.

01 April 2022

With the giant entrance portals just closed on Expo 2020 Dubai – the first event of its kind held in the Middle East, a human-centric future city is now being created on the 4.38-sq-km site to provide everything that people and businesses need to thrive in a sophisticated urban community.

District 2020 is expected to be a global hub for innovation that brings together a diverse community and connects future sectors and technologies to create a more resilient, smarter and sustainable urban environment.

The district has been designed to re-purpose 80 per cent of the Expo’s world-class built assets into an integrated mixed-use community that will continue to attract businesses and people to work, live, visit and enjoy. It will provide a curated innovation-driven business ecosystem that brings together global minds and embraces technology and digital innovation to support industry growth.

The district’s masterplan has been shaped to create a vibrant urban environment that encourages connection balanced with community, comfort and convenience, allowing residents, workers and visitors to effortlessly move between home, office, and leisure.

The development is expected to retain more than 260,000 sq m of gross floor area (GFA) of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold and Platinum structures from Expo 2020 Dubai. These will be transitioned in phases into residential, commercial, and cultural neighbourhoods in District 2020.

The built assets transitioned from Expo 2020 will include the Rove Expo 2020 hotel and iconic cultural attractions.

The district is expected to continue to grow over phases and will have a population of 145,000 at full capacity. Some 108 serviced land plots of residential, hospitality, commercial, and mixed-use assets are earmarked to become available for sale at a later date. The total GFA planned for build out is 2.6 million sq m.

According to earlier timelines set for the destination, repurposing and transition is pencilled to continue until October, when phased handover to future occupants will begin. This includes more than 115,000 sq m commercial net lettable area (NLA) – high-rise plaza offices and low-rise campus-style offices – built and available to move in from the fourth quarter. More than 800 residential units are expected to be handed over starting from January 2023. A number of food and beverage outlets that have served the Expo 2020 are likely to express interest in operating in the district.

As part of its global entrepreneurship programme Scale2Dubai, District 2020 will welcome a first cohort of 85 start-ups and small businesses before the end of this year, joining the diverse organisations working in the post-Expo 2020 Dubai community. Anchor tenants DP World, Siemens, Siemens Energy and Terminus Technologies will also play a key role in developing tech-driven solutions as global industry leaders.

 

Infrastructure

District 2020 has a dedicated Dubai Metro stop, Route 2020, which operates on the Red Line, with future plans will extend it to be just one stop from Al Maktoum International Airport. The district is directly accessible through three major arterial roads with flyovers built to Expo 2020 Dubai. A dedicated autonomous vehicle public transit route will link all major landmarks and hubs of the project, by way of a 4-km loop. Residential neighbourhoods will be connected by pedestrian walkways.

Three 132 kV substations will service District 2020, and solar panels are integrated across the site.

Other plans tabled earlier for the district, include a second hotel and the next phase of the conference centre, with the 45,000-sq-m first phase having been built to host global events during Expo 2020.  

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