Askar A., Akhmetova A., Azylkanova S.A.
On the question of
holding the EXPO-2017 in Kazakhstan
According to experts, by 2050 it will allow Kazakhstan to increase the
country's GDP by at least 3 percent and to open 500 thousand new jobs.
"Green" energy sources should make up 50% of the total energy
produced in the country. Expo should become the means of Kazakhstan's
transition to a "green economy", becoming the platform for
innovations in the global energy industry [2].
The world specialized Expo
exhibitions have become a significant event in the material and spiritual life
both for the member countries and the international community as a whole. It is
not by accident that the largest of them are estimated by contemporaries as the
most important focus of interest of humanity. The ideology of the era can be
viewed in them. They sum up the results of the century. The statistics of the
World EXPO exhibitions indicate that the costs of the state-organizer on the
construction of the exhibition complex, of the necessary infrastructure in the
city and the region are partially paid off in the course of the preparation and
holding of exhibitions, but mostly during a further usage (within 5-7 years) [
3].
It is known, in November 2012 as a result of the secret ballot at the
152nd General Assembly of the International Exhibitions Bureau in Paris, the
capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, with the most votes (103 out of 161), was ahead
of the Belgian city of Liege and it has been declared the place of
"EXPO-2017". The upcoming exhibition will be held under the slogan "Energy
of the Future". It will cover one of the most topical issues of concern of
the international community - alternative energy sources. The exhibition has
its logo. This will be the first international exhibition, which will be held
in the CIS and Central Asia.[4]
The following objects will be built on the territory of EXPO - 2017:
1. The pavilion of Kazakhstan in the form of a sphere with a diameter of 80
meters, with the lower platform of more than 90 meters is the main building of
the exhibition;
2. International,
thematic, corporate pavilions;
3. Trade,
entertainment and service facilities;
4. Open stage
3000 people can observe events;
5. There will be
a conference center, a press center, "covered city", apartment houses
and hotels outside the zone.
Overall, there will
be 38 constructions at the site.
The World Exhibition in Astana will last for 3 months. 100 countries and about
10 international organizations will be able to take part in it. It is expected
that more than 2 million people will visit the exhibition [5].
At the moment, 26 countries, including Russia, Belarus, France, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Armenia, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lithuania, Turkey,
China, Angola, Germany, India, Senegal, St. Kitts Israel and Nevis have
confirmed their participation in the exhibition. In addition, four
international organizations - UNESCAP, OECD, UNIDO, the United Nations
submitted applications.
The total cost of Expo 2017 is 3 billion US dollars. 283 million Euros have
been allocated from Kazakhstan's state
budget. By the beginning of March 2015 investments amounting to 127 billion
tenge have been attracted. EXPO-2017 has been invested by the companies such as
«Basis – A», «BI Group», «Sembol», «SredAzElektroMontazh», ABK «Kurylys - 1»,
«Mabetex Group», company ADS, «MegaManagement», AFF «Mabco construction s.a. »,
LLP« AVENUE» and others. The company «Sumsung» and the Construction Company
«Bouygues» and three other foreign companies have also expressed an interest in
investing in EXPO. The number of domestic manufacturers whose products will be
used in the construction is 85. They are "Kazahkabel", LLP
"Kazakhcement", LLP "Kemont", LLP "Polius", LLP «Korund
LTD», LLP "Vostok-Universal" and others [6].
During the preparation for this grand event Kazakhstan necessarily takes
into account the experience of other countries. Here are the positive and
negative examples of the exhibition. Positive examples, in this case, are Japan
and China. During EXPO-2005 in Aichi (Japan), the organizers received the net
income of $ 51 million, plus $ 152 million was invested by corporate partners
of the exhibition. Expo-2010 in Shanghai brought $ 12 billion in profit for the
organizers. The Chinese authorities did not disclose the revenue and the costs
of the preparation for the event, but unofficially the investment, taking into
account the cost of urban infrastructure, were estimated at $ 40 billion.
As a negative example, let us take the Hannover Fair in 2000, where there were
only 18 million people, instead of the planned 40 million visitors. The loss
was, according to various sources, from 1.2 to 1.5 billion Euros, and a small
number of pavilions were used after the exhibition. Some of the constructions
of the 2008 exhibition in Spanish Zaragoza were also not used [7].
Initially, the main rival to host EXPO-2017 was Belgium, because this country
has participated in international exhibitions since 1897. The total number of
its exhibitions is 8. The largest exhibition was held in 1958 in Brussels with
the Atomium as a symbol. Currently, this structure is one of the main
attractions and the symbol of the capital. Atomium symbolizes the atomic age
and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Sometimes this structure is called the
Brussels Eiffel Tower. There were some problems with the preparation for this
exhibition, because there were no sufficient funds for it. To hold the
exhibition, the Belgian government was forced to use the funds, which they
planned to spend on public holidays. For example, the anniversary of the
Belgian Revolution, the national Independence Day, has been widely celebrated
every 25 years since 1855. The Belgian Government refused to hold the holidays
to use these funds for the construction of exhibition pavilions [8].
Another famous structure built for the Universal Exhibition is the Eiffel Tower
in France. Paris held the world exhibition in 1889, which was timed to coincide
with the centenary of the seizure of the Bastille. The construction was supposed
to be disassembled at the end of the exhibition. The hugeness of the
construction saved the tower from the planned demolition (20 years after the
exhibition), since it was dangerous to demolish it. In 2014 the French
celebrated its 125th anniversary. The Eiffel Tower is the fourth most popular
tourist destination after Disneyland visits, Notre-Dame de Paris and the Louvre
Museum. 7 million people visit the tower annually [9].
Kazakhstan also encountered some problems, which were later resolved,
the presentation of the Expo flag at the 155th session of the General Assembly
of the International Exhibitions Bureau has been the evidence of that. Now the
country has every right to involve foreign parties, to negotiate with corporate
investors, to promote the image of the exhibition. Moreover, the problems with
the start of work to prepare for the construction of facilities to the
exhibition are being solved: reclamation, fencing the area, laying engineering
networks with the supply of electric power, delivery of missing building
materials, complex steel structures for unique objects, etc.
Based on the foregoing, we consider the potential advantages and disadvantages
of holding the EXPO-2017 in Kazakhstan (Table 1).
Table 1 - The potential pros and cons of holding the EXPO-2017 in Kazakhstan
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
- Further diversification and modernization of the economy |
- Temporary employment |
|
Note - compiled by the authors |
|
As it can be seen
from Table 1, there are more potential advantages from conducting EXPO 2017
than the disadvantages in the long term. Although, it is worth noting that no
event of such level can be accurately forecasted by the real payback.
Thus, "Expo-2017" is a chance for the Republic of Kazakhstan to show
what the country is capable of. In addition, by holding the exhibition the
state will have a real opportunity for step by step implementation of the most
complex and high cost events to develop alternative economy, high-tech and
renewable energy within the framework of the Concept of the Republic of
Kazakhstan for the transition to a "green economy" [10].
References
1. Missive of the Head of the State Nursultan Nazarbayev to people of
Kazakhstan. November 11, 2014, "Kazakhstan-2050 is our strength"
2. Presidential Decree of May 30, 2013 ¹ 577 "Concept for the transition
of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the" green economy ", Astana, 2013
3. https://expo2017astana.com
4. htpp: // expo 2008.ru/contact
5. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/world_exhibition_(2017)
6. http://www.iak.kz/ru/blogers-kz/baglan/expo-2017/
7. http://www.matritca.kz/news/20161-nursultan-nazarbaev-cel-ekspo-2017-demonstraciya-dostizheniy-kazahstana-mirovomu-soobschestvu.html
8. https://expo2017astana.com/en/proekt-ekspo-2017
9. http://www.akorda.kz/ru/page/page_expo-2017-v-astane_1356073251
10. https://expo2017astana.com/news/2014/10/talgat-ermegiyaev-mifyi-i-pravda