Shanghai Daily news

New Zealand has chosen a joint team to create its pavilion at World Expo Shanghai 2010.

The team consists of a leading architectural firm, award-winning exhibition and garden designers and a leading international project management company.

New Zealand has secured a 2,000-square-meter prime site for its pavilion, which will be linked to the main walkway and be visible to virtually every visitor to the Expo.

"We're thrilled to be chosen for this task," said Chris Bicknell of Coffey Projects, who will lead the team that will create and direct the building of the pavilion.

"China is the focus of the world's attention right now and will be very important in New Zealand's future. This is a big responsibility and a wonderful opportunity. We are determined to do it justice," Bicknell said.

Most members of the joint team were also involved in creating the successful New Zealand pavilion at the 2006 World Expo in Aichi, Japan.

"New Zealanders usually don't think of themselves as urban people," said Bicknell. "But in fact 86 percent of us live in towns and cities and our major cities rate very highly in world surveys of 'livability.'

"We will be showcasing both our lifestyle and the innovative side of New Zealand urban life in the pavilion."

New Zealand's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Phil Goff, said China's economic and strategic importance to New Zealand made participation at Expo imperative.

"And the fact that we are about to become the first developed country to sign a free trade agreement with China further increases the potential of the expo for us.

"China has the fastest growth of all the major economies. Its middle class now numbers over 100 million and is growing rapidly," Goff said.

New Zealand was among the earliest countries to confirm its participation in the 2010 Expo.

New Zealand's Economic Development Agency said the country would spend an additional US$18 million over the next four years to boost trade development in China and elsewhere in Asia. Shanghai Expo is one of the important programs.

The New Zealand government invested US$8.5 million in the 2006 Aichi World Expo, according to the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise's Website.