Iran and Pakistan have given up on plans to construct their own pavilions at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka and will instead exhibit in pavilions prepared by the event's organizer, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
According to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, 51 countries are planning to build their own pavilions, called Type A, but 11 of them had still not secured contractors as of last Wednesday.
The organizer is planning to request participants whose construction of Type A pavilions is running behind schedule to return the rented-out lots, according to senior officials of the association.
It wants to avoid a situation where empty lots or unfinished pavilions remain when the exposition opens in April 2025, ensuring sufficient time to repurpose these areas for other uses.
"We are able to ask parties concerned to return their lots based on the contract," a senior official of the organizer said.
Iran plans to shift from Type A to simpler Type X, built by the organizer and rented out to participants who will arrange the interiors and exteriors, while Pakistan plans to switch to Type C, another less costly option that will be built by the organizer and shared by multiple participants.
The organizer is set to construct nine Type X rental pavilions, while only three countries, other than Iran, have decided to move into Type X pavilions so far.
Type A pavilions are considered a key attraction but design complexities pose additional challenges, while inflated material and labor costs have affected the construction plans of participants in the global event in western Japan.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura has suggested that Japan urge participants who are finding it difficult to build Type A pavilions to switch to those built by the organizer.
As of June 18, over 160 countries and regions, as well as nine international organizations, had confirmed their participation in the expo, slated for April 13 to Oct. 13 next year on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, according to the Foreign Ministry.
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