Gulf Industrial Cities and Trade Projects Exhibition kicks off at ADNEC

The three day event will highlight the role that healthy industrial sectors, economic cities and freezones have played in promoting economic development within the UAE and represent the first specialised exhibition of its kind for the industrial sector.

According to statistics from the National Ministry of Finance and Industry, investment in the UAE's industrial sector has recently hit a record high at AED 70.4 billion in 2006, of which 52.8 per cent of the investment is in Abu Dhabi, spurred on by the rapid development of mega projects. In the past five years alone, industrial investment has surged 134.3 per cent, from only AED 30 billion in 2002.

Commenting on the exhibition, Simon Horgan, CEO, ADNEC said:

'With such phenomenal growth in the industrial sector, GINEX has been organised to consolidate the countless opportunities available and spearhead additional economic growth well into the future. ADNEC is proud to be a platform for such an important event as business leaders from throughout the region will all be in attendance to view many of the success stories that characterise the UAE industry.'

GINEX is designed to facilitate the development of the regional industrial sector by showcasing specialised exhibits, international examples, information bureaus and regional opportunities to investors and decision makers. A specialised conference will run alongside GINEX 2007 under the title 'Gulf economic strength through the industrial cities', designed to investigate the importance of industrial cities, free zones, economic cities and science and technology parks to a region's economic growth.

'There are so many things going on in Abu Dhabi right now, so the city is the perfect place to host this premier event that celebrates the dynamism of one of the leading industries of the emirate,'

Horgan added.

GINEX rounds off a week of prominent events staged at ADNEC as Abu Dhabi continues its emergence as a leading Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) destination. Both the Aviation Procurement Exhibition, held from March 19 - 21, and the Abu Dhabi Real Estate and Investment Show, held from March 21 - 24, attracted huge interest earlier in the week.

Since the opening of Phase One of the recently completed Exhibition Centre in February for IDEX, ADNEC has hosted many of the region's most important events. The multi-purpose venue boasts 28,000 square metres of exhibition floor space over seven interconnected halls, two luxurious conference rooms, 16 meeting rooms and a 2,000sqm food court. When fully complete in 2008, ADNEC will contain 55,000sqm of exhibition floor space making it one of the largest exhibition venues in the Middle East.