Expo 2020 Dubai has awarded the construction contract for Al Wasl Plaza to Abu Dhabi-based contractor Cimolai Rimond Middle East, a senior official with the Expo announced on Sunday. Al Wasl was the last major design element of the Expo site finalised in April this year. “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,” Ahmed Al Khatib, Expo 2020’s Vice President of real estate and delivery, said. The 150-metre-diameter plaza will be located at the centre of the 4.38-square kilometre Expo site and will connect its 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, according to an April press statement issued by Expo 2020 Dubai. Al Khatib said the construction of Al Wasl Plaza and the thematic districts will be completed by Oct 2019, a year before the event starts to carry out “necessary testing and commissioning from security and operations perspective.” As part of the Expo legacy, the plaza is going to be used both as an event space and a community facility and will contain public walkways and 10 kilometres of bike paths throughout, according to a September report by Zawya. Commenting on other preparatory work underway at the site, Al Khatib said the design phase for all of the buildings has been completed and infrastructure works are already underway. To date, Expo 2020 has awarded over 2,600 contracts across the site, including AED10.8bn (USD2.9bn) in construction contracts, thus “delivering a positive economic impact for the UAE,” said Al Khatib.