Middle East's first dedicated exhibition for construction machinery and vehicles opens at Expo Centre Sharjah

Present at the inauguration ceremony were Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Mr. Saif Al Midfa, Director General of Expo Centre Sharjah, and officials of various government departments, and members of the diplomatic corps and trade associations.

The four-day exhibition, organized by Expo Centre Sharjah with the support of SCCI, is displaying the entire range of construction related machinery, equipment, and vehicles used in the construction process including plant and machinery, commercial vehicles, lifting and conveying equipment, construction equipment, tools and special systems, formwork and scaffolding, construction site facilities, spare parts and accessories, communication and navigation equipment, and safety equipment.

'The Middle East region is currently experiencing a frenzy in construction activities, resulting in a huge consequent demand for related machinery, equipment, and vehicles,' said Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, after the inauguration ceremony.

'Despite the high demand, the region lacks a dedicated one-stop platform that can claim to be exclusively catering to the demand for this category of products from the construction industry. Conmex, with its very focused exhibit profile, will fill that void,' he added.

The debut edition of Conmex is hosting over 250 brands and companies from 21 countries. Among the major international brands that are being represented at the event are COPMA, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Sennebogen, Kobelco, Liebherr, Potain, Alimak, Dynapac, Atlas Copco, Stetter, Sandvik, Vogele, Snowkey, Sany, Raimondi, Eicher, CGR, RKF, Scania, Daewoo, Hyster, Bobcat, Grove, Konecranes, Soilmec, Terex, and Belle.

Though just in its first edition, Conmex is occupying a massive exhibition space of 16,000 sq. m. including both indoor and outdoor display area.

The outdoor exhibition area is mainly being utilized for showcasing medium to heavy machinery and vehicles. It is for the first time that a construction industry trade event in the region is utilizing such a massive indoor and outdoor display area for exhibition purpose.

'The Middle East construction industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented boom and in the process attracting astronomical investments,' said Mr. Saif Al Midfa.

'The demand for equipment, machinery, and vehicles, has shot up significantly in the last few years as a result of the heightened activities in the construction sector. Given the robust economies of the region, there is no indication that there will be any let up in the Middle East real estate and construction growth in the near future. The demand for construction related machinery, equipment, and vehicles will therefore further shoot up. Conmex is fully geared to meet the growing demands of the region's construction sector,' he added.

The impact of the region's booming construction sector on the demand for related machinery and equipment can be gauged from the fact that in Dubai alone over 30,000 towering cranes are in operation. As per statistics available, there are 125,000 tower cranes operating worldwide. At present, the annual market demand just for used machinery in the Middle East is valued at over Dhs. 5 billion.

As far as construction activities in the UAE is concerned, up to April 2006, there were almost USD $ 300 billion worth of active projects, according to a published report. Though the real concentration of the ongoing construction activities within the country is in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the other emirates too are not far behind.

Dubai, which is the centre of heightened construction activities, has witnessed an increase in real estate investment from Dhs. 11 billion in 2000 to Dhs. 165 billion at present. Some of its projects that have grabbed the limelight in the recent past are the USD $ 27 billion Bawardi development project, the USD $ 33 billion Jebel Ali Airport city, the USD $ 1.5 billion Falconcity, the USD $ 4.2 billion Dubai Metro, and the USD $ 2.5 billion Dubai Sports City among others.

Major projects currently underway in Abu Dhabi include the Dhs. 54 billion Al Raha Beach development, the Dhs. 35 billion Al Reem Island development, the Dhs. 100 billion Saadiyat project, and the Dhs. 25 billion Abu Dhabi Airport Expansion project among others. The emirate is expected to spend another Dhs. 47 billion on construction related activities in the next two years.

Within the Northern Emirates, Sharjah has been at the helm of the construction frenzy. The emirate recently committed Dhs. 3.5 billion towards developing its infrastructure. Its other major projects include the Dhs. 227 million airport expansion, the Dhs. 300 million Khorfakkan Container Terminal expansion, the USD $ 4.9 billion Nujoom Islands, and the Emirates Industrial City.

Other important projects underway in the North are a Dhs. 3.5 billion desalination and power generating station in Fujairah, development of the Mina Al Arab resort at a cost of Dhs. 10 billion in Ras Al Khaimah, and the USD 8.2 billion Al Salam City in Umm Al Quwain.

Besides the UAE, the several other countries in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, and Iraq, are also experiencing massive construction boom.

A major highlight of the debut edition of Conmex is the live demonstrations of tower cranes, fork lifts, earthmovers, concrete batching plants, and other light and medium range machinery, equipment, and vehicles. Again, it is for the first time in the region that live demonstrations of so many construction machineries and equipment are being held together at a single venue.

Conmex will attract key personnel and decision makers from the construction industry, contracting companies, traders, distributors, stockists of construction machinery and equipment, service providers including transport companies, consultants, renting and leasing agencies, and Public administration and building authorities from across the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

The exhibition will be open daily from November 25-28, 2006, from 9 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm for trade only.