A UAE newspaper has said that the plan by Dubai’s World Expo 2020 to award 47 construction contracts valued at AED11 billion this year is exactly the kind of post-oil economic planning the UAE needs.

The English language Gulf News, in an editorial today, said, "The organisation is leading the way for other UAE agencies and businesses into a future economy that will sustain the UAE for generations."

Expo 2020, which will be hosted for the first time in the Middle East, is expected to accelerate growth in the city to more than 5 percent by 2020, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund.

"We are committed to working with leading businesses from across the world in order to deliver an exceptional event of this scale, on time and on budget," Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director-General of the Dubai Expo 2020, said.

The paper continues, "It is also important the investment into these events target the small and medium businesses of the UAE. Just last week, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said the UAE would always be proactive in launching constructive initiatives and in implementing strategies that support entrepreneurs and that this would help bolster an environment that encourages the establishment, growth and sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs. The Dubai Government is currently planning to boost the contribution of SMEs to the economy from 40 percent to 45 percent by 2021."

The Dubai-based daily concluded, "Expo 2020 should be congratulated for its efforts into making sure SMEs are included in its tendering process. Two-thirds of the 12,000 companies registered on Expo 2020 e-sourcing portal are SMEs, who have so far won 43 percent of the contracts, twice the organisation’s target."