Gulf Construction Online - Bahrain expo set for strong showing

gulfBID

Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa inaugurating the event in 2010.

Bahrain expo set for strong showing

Despite the difficulties of last year, the fact that leading names are coming to gulfBID this year speaks volumes of the resilience of Bahrain’s economy, as visitors can witness at the show this month.

01 April 2012

gulfBID 2012, the annual exhibition for the Northern Gulf’s construction industry, will this month bring together some of the leading names in the specialist construction, contracting and related sectors from the region and beyond to showcase their brands, equipment and services to regional and international clients and buyers.

The event, traditionally held under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, is being organised by Bahrain-based Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE) from April 24 to 26 and will be held at Hall One of the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC).

Jubran Abdulrahman, managing director of HCE, says: “The fact that some of the region’s most prominent and influential construction-related companies will converge at gulfBID next month is a reiteration of Bahrain’s geographically strategic status in a region undergoing massive development and huge investment, whether in the provision of housing, industrial expansion or transport and infrastructure growth.”

gulfBID is expected to provide a window into the world of the buoyant construction sector in the region, home to trillions of dollars-worth of projects. With high oil prices bankrolling massive new construction and infrastructure spending as prime economic growth drivers in the Gulf region, the construction and projects sectors continue to provide fertile ground for construction and contracting specialists.

Busy stands at the show.

According to regional media reports, Saudi Arabia alone has projects worth $163-billion in the concept stages. The Saudi Gazette recently reported that contracts worth $66 billion were awarded in the kingdom last year, with a further $300 billion in the pipeline.

QNB Capital expects $185-billion worth of projects to be launched in Qatar, in the run up to the 2022 Fifa World Cup. In Bahrain, meanwhile, the energy sector will be subject to a $20-billion long-term investment programme including new facilities, while the country makes concerted efforts to push ahead with new housing schemes throughout the country and particularly in the new cities of North Town, East Hidd and East Sitra, which together are intended to provide approximately 23,000 units by the end of 2016 at an estimated cost of BD2.5 billion ($6.6 billion).

GCC contractors are in particular increasingly focused on manufacturing and sourcing supplies in the region.

Abdulrahman says: “Despite the huge construction contracts being awarded, the market is more competitive than ever, especially for contractors whose prime focus is inherently on managing project risk and completing on budget. gulfBID takes into account the highly competitive environment in which contractors seek to balance risk against rewards in a shrinking margin business to maintain profit levels.

“Nowhere is this highly competitive spirit more true than in Bahrain, where a number of large construction and infrastructure projects are set for launch. gulfBID is, therefore, the ideal platform for these companies to set out their stall.”

A total of 166 exhibitors from 21 countries participated in the joint gulfBID and gulfInteriors exhibitions in May 2010, attracting 5,990 unique professional trade visitors from leading construction and interiors companies, an 80 per cent increase on 2009 attendance figures.

The show is supported by Bahrain’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce; the Tamkeen Labour Fund and the German Arab Chamber of Commerce.