Expo City Dubai: the city’s international exhibitions are moving here, and the south is growing around them

The world exposition site in Dubai has stopped being a temporary venue and become a permanent district. Its planned capacity is up to 300 000 residents.

What is being built

Residential quarters facing the landscaped gardens, the central dome and the park.
Joint developments between the emirate's largest developer and the operator of the exhibition centre — an unusual example of two state-linked players building together.
Payment plans that at launch ran to 10% on booking, 40% during construction and 50% spread over as much as five years after handover.
Entry pricing from around $400 000 for a one-bedroom apartment.

The decisive factor is the exhibitions

Dubai's international exhibitions are being relocated onto this site. For the district that means a standing flow of business visitors, hotel demand and short-let occupancy — an economy with content to it, rather than housing alone.

The city's southern vector

Expo City is best read alongside two neighbouring projects: the new Al Maktoum international airport and the second palm archipelago. Between them they move the centre of gravity of development to the south of the emirate, where the free land is and where state infrastructure spending is going.

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What to weigh against it

Distance from the historic centre. Downtown and the Marina are a long way from here, and for a share of tenants that is the deciding objection.
Dependence on an infrastructure timetable. The value of the location is tied directly to when the airport opens and when the exhibitions actually move — and dates of that kind slip.
Sustainability as a concept costs money. Low-energy engineering improves daily life and also shows up in the service charge.
Check the specific phase. The district is large, and the difference between a building by the metro and one at the edge of the site is substantial.

Based on published material on the development of Expo City Dubai and the projects on its site.