Dubai – The Big 5 Show, the largest fair in the building sector in the Middle East, which begins on Monday (22) in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, should have 20% greater presence of exhibitors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) than did the edition last year, according to fair director Andy White. This shows that the building sector is heated in the region as a whole, as the bloc includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the Emirates.
“Local companies are stronger and among them there are several distributors,” said the executive to ANBA on Sunday. Although Dubai is the leader in the sector in the Middle East, with US$ 216 billion in projects in development, White added that Saudi Arabia, for example, is a market that is growing so much that the Big 5 will have an edition in the country in February next year. “The [Saudi] fair is already fully sold out,” he said.
He added that 75% of the Saudi population is young, under 30 years of age, and that the country has many reserves due to oil, which makes possible investment in housing, schools, industry and infrastructure. The Western Province, where Jeddah is located, the main economic hub in the country, concentrates 34% of the projects and is where the organizers of the fair are investing their efforts.
“There is also much taking place in Abu Dhabi,” said White. In a seminar organized on Sunday morning, the consultant at Dubai’s Contractors Association, Imad Al Jamal, said that US$ 200 billion in infrastructure and building projects are expected to be developed in the capital of the Emirates over the next six years.
According to the director at the Big 5, although Dubai currently has a smaller market than a few years ago, the fair brings together businessmen from all around the Middle East. Proof of this is the fact that, despite the crisis, the edition last year had a record number of participants, and that should be repeated this year.
To guarantee growth in turbulent times, in the previous edition, the fair space was expanded, in an attempt to reduce the large waiting lists, and new attractions were created, like conferences and workshops, the Gaia Awards for environmental responsibility and a buyer project which is bringing businessmen from the Middle East and North Africa who are responsible for projects estimated at over US$ 100 million.
Still in the environmental area, White said that Australia was one of the highlights in the three editions of the Gaia award. “It seems like they are in the lead in this area,” he said. Next year, the Big 5 will have an area exclusively turned to “green” products. He pointed out that it is currently necessary to offer more to attract exhibitors than it was four years ago, prior to the crisis. “We must work hard,” he said.
The executive said that the fair should have 2,200 exhibitors from 70 countries, among them 27 national pavilions, like the Brazilian one, once again organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex). There is also demand from European companies, which are aiming at exporting, as the European markets are currently on the low.
This year, 25,800 people scheduled visitation prior to the opening of the fair, as against 17,000 last year. But, in practice, according to White, there were 35,000 visitors in the 2009 edition, which suggests that the figure for 2010 should be even greater. He pointed out that much business is made between the exhibitors themselves, who are producers and distributors.
Seminar
On Sunday morning, the Brazilian delegation, which includes not just exhibitors but also a group of businessmen from Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso, taken by the Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (Fiesc), participated in a seminar promoted by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The group includes over 70 people, of which 20 are representatives of 15 companies to exhibit at the fair.
In the name of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Marketing vice president Rubens Hannun spoke about the organization’s services and thanked its partners, among them the Apex, for their support. The organisation’s secretary general, Michel Alaby, in turn, made a presentation about the economic moment lived by Brazil, with special emphasis in the areas of agribusiness, infrastructure and tourism.
Engineer Omar Khaled Hamaoui, from Paraná, gave a talk about his personal experience in the Middle East. Having arrived in Dubai in 2003, his company has already developed seven enterprises and is now developing projects in Saudi Arabia and Libya.
The seminar also included Atiq Hassan, from the International Relations Department at the Dubai Chamber, Fahad Al Thani, investment support manager at the organisation, and Nicolas Stadmiller, who spoke about the part played by the Chamber in the development of business in Dubai.
*Translated by Mark Ament
