Last year’s show attracted some of the bigger names in the industry.
FULLY BOOKED
01 October 2006
Space for the next edition of Saudi Build, the international construction technology and building materials exhibition, has been fully sold out, according to the organiser of the event.
The show is being held from December 10 to 14 at the Riyadh Exhibition Centre – located on the Olaya Road and King Fahd Highway Ring Road – which offers 10,000 sq m of air-conditioned space and 10,000 sq m of outside exhibition space. It is set to showcase a wide range of building and construction products and equipment ranging from asphalt plant and airport equipment to waterproofing and wood products.
“Over 24,000 visitors attended Saudi Build 2005, where over 500 companies from around the world were represented. This year’s show too has been fully sold out following the precedent set by the last six shows,” states a spokesman for Riyadh Exhibitions Company, the organiser.
This year’s exhibition will be the 18th in the series, and is guaranteed to bring the best of the world’s construction technology and products to the heart of the region’s market, he adds.
This event has the UFI accreditation of quality international standards, he states.
Also being held concurrently with Saudi Build is Saudi Stone, which aims to address the “growing demand for stone and stone technology including marble, granite, stone derivatives, travertine as well as cutting, polishing and manufacturing machinery.
“Saudi Stone 2006 – the ninth international stone and stone technology show – is a special showcase designed to help meet the needs of trade buyers for the latest technologies and products. The show is being held concurrently with Saudi Build in order to maximise the number of professionals and trade buyers and in turn business development opportunities for exhibitors, and promote synergies,” according to the organiser.
Saudi Build 2006 and Saudi Stone 2006 aim to provide an ideal meeting place for construction industry professionals who wish to capture a slice of the resurgent Saudi market. With an estimated $200 billion active projects in the kingdom, the construction sector is moving ahead vigorously to satisfy the growing demand for residential, commercial, housing and institutional construction as well as build the rapidly expanding industrial infrastructure.
This apart, the private sector has unleased bold initiatives such as the $26.6 billion King Abdullah Economic City project off the Red Sea Coast covering a greenfield site of 55 million sq m, the $8 billion Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Mousaed Economic City in Hail and the $6.7 billion Knowledge Economic City in Madinah, with further cities reported to be on the drawing boards. In addition, Saudi Arabia has announced the largest budget in its history, projecting revenues at record SR390 billion and expenditures at SR335 billion and allocating SR126 billion for new projects. According to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the new budget has been designed to accelerate the development process and improve the living conditions of citizens. The 2006 national budget includes allocations for the construction of three new universities in Jizan, Hail and Al Jouf, 2,700 new schools, three new technical colleges and 15 vocational training centers. The existing universities will be supported by establishing 85 new colleges. The budget includes establishing and furnishing of 440 primary health care centres in all the 13 regions of the Kingdom. Allocations have been made for 24 new hospitals, and for the furnishing, expansion and development of existing health facilities.
Finance Minister Al Assaf said the 2006 budget has allocated SR24.8 billion for new educational and training projects, SR4.3 billion for new health projects, SR10 billion for new municipal projects, and SR9.2 billion for new roads, airports, seaports, railroads and postal services.
New projects in water, agriculture, and infrastructure will get SR18 billion. These include water, sewage, and desalination projects worth SR13 billion. “Allocations have also been made for two industrial cities – Jubail 2 and Yanbu 2, Al Assaf pointed out.
According to a statement issued by the Finance Ministry, the non-oil industrial sector is estimated to grow by 8.4 per cent; the construction sector by six per cent; the electricity, gas, and water sector by 4.9 per cent; the transport and communications sector by 9.9 per cent; and the wholesale, retail, restaurants, and hotels by 6.2 per cent.
Riyadh Exhibitions Company has organised more than 320 international shows over the past 25 years.
