While the Expo 2020 managers are busy putting finishing touches to the event and its infrastructure, the biggest question on the minds of real estate investors is what will happen AFTER the Expo 2020 is over!!
Lets take few steps back and take a look.
A lesson in History.
Dubai was famous as a trading post where the ships would come from far-off countries, carrying good for the region. They would offload their bulk cargo for onward despatch to other Gulf countries through the Dhows.
Along came oil, and brought petrodollars, transforming the region beyond their wildest imagination.
The continuum of trading lead to the creation of Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone where world’s mega brands and logistics companies setup their regional hubs. In due course the region also witnessed manufacturing facilities setup in the country.
Back in the 1990s the common phrase used to be that Dubai is a bubble economy and the bubble will burst any day. Why was this perception? Because the economic experts would look at Dubai from the lens they had acquired in other economies of the world. But, Dubai failed all such gurus and continued to reach greater heights, much due to its visionary leadership.
Around the same time Dubai started courting tourism. Initially, jaws dropped on the very idea because they could not conceive people flocking to a desert Emirate for leisure travel and holidays. But Dubai proved itself as the leading tourism destination. Hotel brands were racing to build additional capacity to keep up with the demand.
Emboldened, around the turn of the century Dubai adorned the dot-com vision, building Dubai Internet City and several other similar free zones. Each brought their own impact, businesses and customers.
2000s also saw the new wave of real estate sector, allowing overseas investors to own real estate in Dubai.
Yes, Dubai economy fell in 2008. But it was not the only one to fall. It fell when the entire world collapsed owing to faults in the financial sector thousands of miles away.
And, like always, Dubai bounced back. Bolder. Wiser. More aggressive.
Fast Forward to NOW.
Dubai is massively geared towards the knowledge economy, with significant investments in leading edge, emerging technologies like AI, Hyperloop, 3D printing, 5G, and loads more.
The estimates for Expo 2020 participation are placed in the neighborhood of 25M people from 190+ countries of the world. while the companies presenting at the world’s largest stage will come from all sectors, it is expected that the predominance will be from the knowledge based sectors.
There are strong indications that the real estate laws will be further relaxed, and there is even word of 10-year residential visas.
Collectively, these factor will create a new wave of residents and property investors, starting from Expo 2020 and going well beyond into 2021 and further.
Once the expo is over, the entire Expo 2020 area will be repurposed as new district with new residential and commercial buildings, malls, schools, etc.
The AED10bn new metro line to service the area will boost occupancy of the area.
Experts estimate that the demand for property in Dubai in 2020 will not be fully met, driving the prices upwards.
Post Expo 2020, Dubai is looking positive and quite likely to generate the next era of the Emirate.
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Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels
