UAE: Cimolai Rimond wins final Expo 2020 contract
Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi-based contractor Cimolai Rimond Middle East has won the contract to build the Al Wasl Plaza in Dubai. The announcement was made by Expo 2020 at the Excellence in Construction Summit, held as part of The Big 5 event in Dubai.
The Plaza is the final major design element of the Expo 2020 site and will be handled by Cimolai Rimond, which is an Abu Dhabi-based joint venture between Italian firms Cimolai, a structural steelmaker and contractor and construction contractor Rimond.
The 150-m-diameter Al Wasl Plaza – designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) – will be located at the centre of the 4.38-square km Expo 2020 site and will connect the three thematic districts – Opportunity, Sustainability and Mobility – as well as the other main concourses, including the Dubai Metro link and the UAE Pavilion, through its seven entrances and exits. The plaza will serve the local area long after Expo 2020 as an event space and a community facility, with public walkways and 10km of bike paths. Expo 2020 has awarded over 2,600 contracts across the site, so far, including 2.94 billion dollars in construction contracts. The infrastructure works will be completed by end of 2018 and three dedicated 132kV stations for the Expo is nearly finished and due to be energised by the end of this year.
Ahmed Al Khatib, Expo 2020’s vice-president of real estate and delivery, said: “When finished, the [Al Wasl Plaza] structure will weigh 2,265 tonnes and enclose a space of about 724,000 cubic metres, the same volume as 290 Olympic-sized swimming pools.” The Plaza will also feature restaurants, cafes, bars and parks and will be scheduled for an October 2019 completion date.”