Dubai has already acquired the world’s outstanding vote of confidence regarding its status of being the very first city regarding the Middle East to house the execution of the Expo event. This analogy stands out to be a remarkable achievement for the city (Salerno, 2014). In conjunction with that, a massive effort regarding logistics will be prevailing to create assurance for optimum success in 2020. The targeted event depicts exciting moments ahead besides equally depicting an obligation of huge proportions. It appears quite extraordinary, to the Vice-President of the UAE (HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum), that the city with its population of two million residents is in its effort to host twenty-five million visitors, wherein 70% are yearned to be from abroad. Invariably, having quite many global visitors at the Expo activates prevalence of additional logistics problems that accrue to not any other event till now. For instance, Milan’s Expo 2015 had 30% international visitors while Shanghai’s Expo 2010 witnessed only 6% of its visitors from overseas. Nonetheless, there are several ways in which Dubai will tackle the resultant logistics challenges, notably accruing to the transportation sector.
The city is planning for a shift regarding the international trade routes. Invariably, the Emirate’s maritime as well as the logistics sector are foreseeing optimum growth to sustain the expected increase in demand (Gath et al., 2014). The market is already in its efforts of being an integrated logistics as well as a transportation hub. A substantial step was initiated in 2010 regarding inauguration accruing to the Dubai Logistics Corridor (the 200-sq-km custom-bonded free zone region that links Jebel Ali Port, the new Al Maktoum International Airport, and Jebel Ali Freezone (Tan & Pekka, 2012). The corridor will enhance the flow accruing to sea-to-air cargo notably by eradicating the events of entry and exit from certain zones to others. Moreover, there will result in a capable eradication of double customs inspection. This analogy implies prevalence of one step ahead, and that the city’s plan persists to further integrate, finally activating prevalence of the greatest potential efficiency. Invariably, the Emirate is building on the ideology of transport and logistics hub notably in the southern region of the city. For instance, in 2014, Dubai Airports announced its plans to use $32bn in expanding Al Maktoum International Airport to accommodate more than two-hundred million passengers by the next decade (Bretzke, 2013).
Regarding construction of the hub, the Al Maktoum project will support Emirates in its obligation as a facilitator regarding tourism growth and air travel; as an element of the broader DWC development. Additionally, the project will drive an airport town project that is capable of supporting the Emirate’s logistics industry.
The other approach is the attractive corridor. Notably, this commitment towards the DWC project will substantially support the growth accruing to ancillary and associated business. Additionally, the Dubai Activity City Authority has already built two agent buildings in the underlying zone and yearns to construct more (John et al., 2008). Moreover, several high-profile firms have committed their logistics operations to the Emirate’s DWC. DWC further managed to win commitments from IKEA, Nestle, and Apple, all of which base their local logistics operations from DWC.
Another approach is port upgrades and rail transport. Jebel Ali encountered an expansion of six berths to amplify the underlying capacity to 19m TEUs in 2015 (Gulf News Report, 2013). The transport expansion is amongst the key strategies that Dubai is working on in preparation for the Expo 2020. Invariably, the great task accrues to UPS, the international logistics giant that is responsible for upgrading the Dubai’s logistics to prepare the city for the six-month Expo (Scott, 2017). Nevertheless, the Metro is Dubai’s unique feature. It has hailed as the globe’s longest and fully automated metro network that span seventy-five kilometers beside serving forty-six stations notably on two lines. Dubai’s RTA (Roads & Transport Authority) will fast track an effective Dh5 billion expansion with an aim of including linkages to the Expo 2020 site as well as to the Al Maktoum Airport. Consequently, the metro network will amplify to fifty-eight stations besides having ninety kilometers of track.
As per the ATA (International Air Transport Association), the UAE is yearned to emerge as the globe’s 3rd largest market regarding the international air freight by the year 2018 to replace Germany from that leading position (Hazem, 2015). With the projected quantity of 4.97m tons, invariably the UAE will follow China (5.6m tons) and the United States (10.1m tons). The freight volumes accruing to Dubai’s two global airports grew by 18.1% in 2014. UPS is playing a key role of remedying the logistics challenges that accrue to Dubai following its long-awaited event of Expo 2020.
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- Scott, A. (2017). UPS to be Dubai Expo 2020’s Official Logistics Partner after Winning Bid. Retrieved from https://www.thenational.ae/business/ups-to-be-dubai-expo-2020-s-official-logistics-partner-after-winning-bid-1.70770
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