Expo 2020 Dubai has chosen leading global logistics firm UPS (NYSE: UPS) to handle the logistics operations for World Expo 2020 Dubai, which is expected to attract millions of visitors between its opening day on October 20, 2020 through April 10, 2021.
With more than 180 countries expected to participate and hundreds of thousands of visitors on peak days, the Expo will be one the most complex logistics projects UPS has tackled.
As Official Logistics Partner, UPS will provide more than 27,000 square meters of warehouse space, equivalent to four soccer fields, and a team of 1,000 employees during the Expo. The team will rely on expertise as logistics sponsor in the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The partnership agreement was signed by his Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee, and Jean-Francois Condamine, UPS President of the Indian Sub-continent, Middle East and Africa (ISMEA).
The Expo 2020 theme, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” provides a platform to foster creativity, innovation and collaboration globally. “Mobility is one of the key pillars of Expo 2020 Dubai,” said Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau. “We see it as the bridge to opportunity by connecting people, goods and ideas and providing easier access to markets, knowledge and innovation. UPS will play a key role – not only during Expo 2020 Dubai but long after the doors close in 2021.”
Operating in the region since 1989, UPS will help establish Dubai as a transportation hub for global commerce connecting trade from the Middle East to China, Africa, Europe and the U.S.
“We plan to expand UPS’s presence in the region by establishing capacity, technology and staff capabilities to serve customers shipping to and through Dubai, long after the Expo concludes,” said David Abney, UPS Chairman and CEO. “An undertaking of this scale and sophistication requires a next generation network that is smart, efficient, and integrated. We share a vision of what the logistics of tomorrow will look like.”
The United Arab Emirates is home to one of the world’s busiest airports, Dubai International, along with the port of Jebel Ali, the largest container port outside the Far East.
Other Expo 2020 partnerships include Emirates Airlines, Accenture, Etisalat, DP World and SAP. Dubai prepares to host the first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.
