The Expo 2020 Dubai organizers plan to award 47 construction contracts worth AED11 billion ($3bn) this year in preparation for the event, according to UAE state news agency WAM.

A further 98 non-construction contracts totalling more than AED 360 million ($98m) will also be distributed before the end of the year. These will range from legal advisory services to event management and merchandising.

The construction contracts for 2017, which are open to local, regional and international businesses, include the third and final infrastructure package for the event’s support areas, including car parking.

Other key awards for the year ahead include the construction of the three “thematic districts” that will host the majority of the pavilions, as well as the public areas and the design, development and delivery of all temporary architecture and infrastructure required to stage the event.

The Expo 2020 Dubai eSourcing Portal includes details of upcoming tender opportunities, as well as announcing contracts already awarded. These will range from smaller contracts to larger, multibillion dirham opportunities.

The announcement shows that the Expo is on track to complete the majority of construction a full year ahead of the event opening in October 2020 and is delivering on its commitment to bring major opportunities to both local and global companies.

Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau, said: “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.

“This is particularly true when it comes to the development of the physical site, which will live on long beyond 2021 to become an anchor for the UAE’s developing knowledge economy in Dubai South.

“But just as importantly, the non-construction contracts to be procured this year will allow us to spread the investment made in the Expo as far as possible and enable local, regional and international businesses of all sizes to be part of what will be the most inclusive and international event in Expo history.”

In 2016, Expo 2020 Dubai awarded over 1,200 contracts, investing more than AED2 billion ($544.5m) in the economy.

This included the appointment of an Orascom-Besix joint venture at the end of the year to develop the deep infrastructure at the Expo site in Dubai South. Once complete, the site will cover 4.38 square kilometres and host up to 300,000 people a day between October 2020 and April 2021.

This work includes irrigation and sewerage, pipes and cabling, roads, electrical and water, and telecommunications ducting.