Dubai – The Middle Eastern construction market is rebounding and attracting more international enterprises that plan on either setting up operations in the United Arab Emirates or having a distributor in the country. So says Andy White, the director of the Big 5, the region’s leading trade fair, which opened this Monday (25th) in Dubai, and is having its largest edition ever this year. The event’s opening was attended by sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s deputy ruler.
“This is our largest event yet, and we have more international exhibitors than ever before, “says White. This edition features over 2,500 exhibitors, of which 70% are foreign. According to the fair’s director, most participating companies want more than just to export.
“Many of the companies are here for the first time, and many are here to close deals or meet distributors. We try to help them out. We have workshops on how to set up operations in the Emirates, how to license products here and how to draft contracts with distributors. This is what they are seeking when they come to the fair,” he explains.
White showed the figures to prove that the regional construction market is attracting more and more international companies. “In the Emirates, projects worth US$ 15.5 billion were carried out in the first half of 2013 and that is 66% more than in the second half of 2012. Similarly, US$ 67 billion worth of [construction industry] contracts have been signed in the Gulf in the first half of 2013, up 53% from the second half of 2012, so the market here is truly growing,” he said.
According to the event’s director, the products that stand out the most at the fair are those relating to technology and sustainability. “Per capita energy consumption in the Middle East and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), particularly, are higher than anywhere else in the world due to the climate here. This means more water and power are spent on keeping milder temperatures inside buildings. These are the strongest sectors here. People are always seeking innovation in order to cut down spending on power and water,” he said. The GCC is a regional bloc comprising Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Emirates, Kuwait and Oman.
However, he says, climate is not the only factor driving demand for sustainable technologies up. “The sustainability issue is very big right now because on January 1st [2014], Dubai’s new Green Building Code will become effective, meaning new constructions in Dubai must observe a well-defined set of rules. The code sets forth that buildings must save power and water,” he said.
This year, there are six exhibitors from Brazil at the Big 5. In this respect, White notes that Brazilian presence at the event has been stronger in the past, and ascribes the reduction to strong domestic demand in Brazil.
“We have had more Brazilian exhibitors in the past. Brazil’s economy is very strong right now, and therefore domestic consumption has increased. In economies like Italy, United Kingdom and France, the construction industry is going through a difficult period, so construction companies need to export their product. Thus, you see many of these companies coming to the Big 5, whereas Brazilian participation has declined a bit,” he said.
Still, he hopes to see a change in coming editions. “Dubai and the GCC have gone through a rough period and I hope to see more Brazilian exhibitors here. They are very popular, and lots of people look for their products [at the fair],” he said.
The Brazilian participation in the event is organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
