The Big 5 UAE 2019, Middle East’s largest construction event, will celebrate its 40th anniversary

Reaching a remarkable milestone in Dubai, The Big 5 UAE, Middle East’s largest construction event, will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year, organisers dmg events announce. 

Over the past four decades, the show has launched hundreds of thousands of products boosting the expansion of the regional construction market. It has facilitated partnerships, advanced knowledge and industry best practices, while serving as the gateway for international companies to do business and expand in the Middle East.

Today, The Big 5 UAE is the number one annual meeting place for the global construction community to meet face to face, learn and sign partnerships in the region and beyond, as the Middle East market keeps attracting industry players from around the world.

With more than USD 1 trillion worth of contracts awarded over last five years, in fact, the MENA region’s future projects pipeline exceeds USD 3.7 trillion. Construction and civil construction projects alone account for USD 2.4 trillion, according to a recent report by MEED Projects published by The Big 5.  

59% of these upcoming construction projects are for mixed used buildings, followed by infrastructure (21%), apartments, houses and villas (7%), airport, port and rail terminals (6%), hotels and resorts, hospitals and clinics, government facilities, and offices.

According to the report, the UAE is the most active projects market in the MENA region. It is home to USD 530 billion worth known planned and un-awarded projects, with more than USD 380 billion being located in the Emirate of Dubai alone.

The vast majority of the planned projects in Dubai are for mixed-use buildings (64%), followed by apartments (8%), airports (7%), and railway (4%). Other significant segments include houses and villas, dredging and reclamation works, hotels and resorts, and solar plants.
The United Arab Emirates tends to be the most open and stable of all economies in the Middle East, and therefore the starting point for most international companies looking to enter the region.

Transparency and visibility of market opportunities are clearest and companies from all nationalities are able to take advantage of the various projects opportunities, the report states.

Confirming the UAE and Dubai’s growing role as a global business hub, international participation at The Big 5 UAE has increased by 11% over the past five years only, the event organisers reveal.

In 2018, 2,250 exhibitors took part in the show, which welcomed more than 68,000 construction professionals from 132 countries. 70% of the exhibiting companies and 41% of the visitors came from outside the United Arab Emirates. 

On the backdrop of four decades of success, in 2019 the mega show will turn into a global hub for the entire construction industry at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 25 to 28 November.

This year, The Big 5 UAE will feature more product sectors than ever before, alongside six co-located shows offering 360-degree building solutions, from the inception to the completion of the construction projects:

• The Big 5 Heavy, the largest exhibition dedicated to the infrastructure and heavy construction industry in the Middle East;
• Middle East Concrete, the leading platform for the concrete industry in the region;
• HVAC R Expo Dubai, Middle East’s leading platform connecting the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry;
• Middle East Stone, the region’s premier event for natural stone, marble, granite, design and technology;
• The Big 5 Solar, Middle East’s only dedicated platform for solar solutions in construction;
• The Urban Design & Landscape Expo, the region’s premier trade event for urban green spaces.

The Big 5 UAE 2019 will combine the benefits of dedicated events with a truly comprehensive platform able to attract a global audience from over 130 countries to Dubai, for four days of face to face business meetings.

“We are thrilled to announce that this year our events are all back side by side,”says Josine Heijmans, Portfolio Director at dmg events.“The spectrum of products and solutions for the construction industry will be wider than ever. Construction professionals will be able to grasp what’s going on in the industry and take advantage of the different disciplines being finally together, under one roof.”

“After the successful launch of the Start-Up City, the Live Innovation Zone, and the Future Tech Construction Summit in 2018, innovation and technology will take centre stage in the upcoming edition of the show,” Heijmans promises.  

“As new technologies emerge, the different industry functions must come together and collaborate throughout all the stages of a project. That’s why at The Big 5 UAE we firmly believe in promoting an environment where silos are broken down, allowing for an effective communications to finally take place among all the stakeholders involved in the construction process.”

For the first time this year, The Big 5 UAE will also introduce the brand new Offsite & Modular Construction Sector.

“With rapid and efficient construction delivery being in high demand, buyers require state-of-the-art offsite and modular construction solutions for residential, educational, healthcare as well as commercial applications,” Heijmans explains.

Nagarajan C.V., Deputy Chief Executive Officer of DUTCO TENNANT LLC, a longstanding exhibitor at the show, said: “Throughout the years, exhibiting at The Big 5 UAE allowed us to find customers, business partners and even talent. More than that, The Big 5 UAE allowed us to become a Gulf-wide company. It has encouraged us to look beyond the UAE borders and now we have offices and run operations across the entire region, from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.”

Paul Kyriazis, the Greek representative of the show, said: “Many Greek companies that exhibited at The Big 5 UAE have a strong presence in the UAE today. Others are now working on prestigious projects like Expo 2020 Dubai, or export to the entire region.

“The Big 5 UAE is a fundamental platform for us. It is way more than an exhibition: it’s an open gate on a huge and promising market, including the Middle East, Africa and Asia.”

The Big 5 UAE 2019 runs from 25 to 28 November at the Dubai World Trade Centre, alongside The Big 5 Heavy,Middle East Concrete, HVAC R Expo Dubai, Middle East Stone, The Big 5 Solar, and the Urban Design & Landscape Expo.

The text/image source: official exhibition website Press The Big 5 2019