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‘Without Expo, weekends won’t be the same anymore’
Six months is a long time to get addicted to something. No wonder, Dubai residents got hooked on Expo. It served as their best getaway – more like a jaunt – especially during weekends.
With withdrawal symptoms kicking in after the curtains came down on Expo, residents will have to seek out new indulgences (read events and places) to whet their appetite for pleasure. This will be the first weekend without Expo.
We talked to a few people to know how they are planning to spend the weekend – minus the Expo. And as expected, we found them pining for Expo.
Vanshika Jashani, a school teacher and a frequent visitor to the Expo, said she used to detox from her work by visiting the world’s biggest fair. Now, with Expo gone, she will go back to the entertainment modes she resorted to before.
She says, “Weekends won’t be the same anymore. For the last six months, we never thought of looking for any sort of activity over the weekend. Expo was the one and only destination for us. But, from this week, we will again have to go to the malls or kids play area for our weekly entertainment.”
Her pensive sigh while she talked revealed how much the people of Dubai are missing Expo and sure, it’s going to take a lot of time to get used to the void.
Anuradha Prakash, another Dubai resident, said she was reeling under withdrawal symptoms after Expo drew to a close.
She said, “During Expo, we visited all live musical shows and even got to see international stars up close. Now, the weekends are going to be laidback and slow and will get over as we binge watch TV series.”
The Expo was what many dub as “once-in-a-lifetime event”.
Dubai is a hub of entertainment and has a lot to offer. We are certain it’s going to get easy as the days go by. Dubai with its vibrance will replace Expo nostalgia with fresh fun, cause the city exceeds expectations and always finds a way out to cheer up people.
Salik is taking another step beyond toll collection, announcing plans to introduce smart parking and vehicle access systems across three of Dubai’s major economic zones.
Under a new agreement with the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), the company will explore parking optimisation and access control solutions covering more than 21,000 parking spaces at Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ), Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity.
The proposed systems are designed to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, prevent misuse of parking spaces and make it easier for businesses, employees and visitors to move around the free zones.
The partnership marks the launch of a new business vertical for Salik as it continues expanding beyond its traditional road toll operations into wider mobility and digital transport services.
What will change?
The companies plan to integrate their technology platforms to create a connected parking and vehicle access system across the three zones.
Planned features include:
- Smart parking management
- Automated vehicle access control
- Improved traffic flow within free zones
- Better use of available parking spaces
- Unified operating standards across all three locations
Which areas are covered?
The project will span:
- Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ)
- Dubai Silicon Oasis
- Dubai CommerCity
Together, the three locations offer more than 21,000 parking spaces serving businesses, residents, investors and visitors.
No timeline has yet been announced for when the new systems will be rolled out.
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