- The Big 5 launches Concrete event as GCC infrastructure spending hits half a trillion dollars
- Inaugural event to be co-located with the industry-leading Big 5 in November
With the region’s appetite for construction picking up, The Big 5 today announced that it is launching Middle East Concrete, a new exhibition designed to be the essential showcase for everything related to the concrete business.
Co-located with The Big 5, the region’s largest construction event, at the World Trade Centre, in Dubai from November 21 to November 24, Middle East Concrete (MEC) will be a one-stop shop covering everything from raw materials and logistics to precast products/ training and certification in the industry. Far from being just a static, indoor show, MEC will take over the Trade Center plaza for interactive live demonstrations of the latest plant and equipment, offering hands-on experience on the latest techniques to concrete industry professionals.
Nathan Waugh, Middle East Concrete Exhibition Manager at DMG events, said: “Concrete is at the heart of every construction project. With such a huge and diverse range of applications, from the practical to the decorative, readymix to precast, and all the technology and products supporting it, clearly a dedicated event addressing all the needs of the industry in the region is long overdue.
“Rather than just a trade exhibition, we’ve included a conference, panels, workshops and seminars to the mix. With many of the region’s biggest players looking to expand their business activities in 2011, technical knowledge, innovation and training are key components one can’t exclude. The conference element with panel discussions, workshops and seminars will address these issues.”
Andy White, Event Director for The Big 5, added: “There is no other concrete industry event that provides such a rounded business and networking experience as MEC.
“The fact that it is co-located with The Big 5 is a huge plus, being located right at the centre of the biggest construction industry event in the region. It’s a unique synergy of having both your own industry plus a collection of the entire industry represented at The Big 5 at the same place.”
Leo Liao, Deputy General Manager, of the UAE Branch of the construction plant manufacturer SANY, said:
“Middle East Concrete at The Big 5 provides SANY with the perfect platform to display the latest concrete pumping products and other heavy machinery to buyers across the whole region, at a time when spending on heavy construction equipment is increasing. ”The event is being held at a time when infrastructure development throughout the region is continuing unabated.
According to a report by research analysts Ventures Middle East released in April, 2011, the GCC is planning projects worth a massive $3 trillion. Of that, about $452 billion worth of projects are ongoing across the six member states, with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar accounting for almost 80 per cent of that total. With concrete being essential to these projects, analysts are predicting increased demand across the board, and are setting their outlook for the industry as ‘positive’.
“The GCC construction sector is rebounding,” says Waugh. “Last year alone, construction contracts worth $196 billion were awarded in the GCC. A lot of this investment is for road, rail, energy and other infrastructure developments, and it’s these projects that are driving growth in the region and contributing to the increase in demand for innovative concrete products and services.”
