Front and Roof & Cladding exhibitions to open at Expo Centre Sharjah on May 2

The Roof and Cladding Middle East, which is the Middle East's first and only trade event for roof, cladding, and allied products, will be held concurrently at Expo Centre Sharjah with Front, a fenestration and exterior façade exhibition.

The two shows will also be witnessing an important announcement about the launch of Conmex, another dedicated show for the regional construction industry that will showcase construction machinery, equipment and vehicles. The four-day Conmex will be making its debut at Expo Centre Sharjah on November 25, 2006.

Front, an Expo Centre Sharjah event, which will be in its second edition this year, will display windows, doors (wooden, glass, aluminium, steel, automatic, crane doors etc..), grills, gates, shutters and sun protection, sun blinds and awnings, louver blinds, interior roller blinds, glass and glass products, paints and chemicals, door operating devices, roller blinds, drives and drive technology, raw materials, components and machinery, accessories, working and business safety, wall coverings, locks and access control among others.

Roof and Cladding Middle East, a trade event jointly organised by India's Unitech Exhibition and Expo Centre Sharjah, will be in its fourth series this time. It will showcase roofing systems, architectural cladding, structural glazing, curtain walling, façade engineering, metal building systems, skylights and domes, waterproofing, and insulation material. The exhibition had made its debut in Mumbai, India, in 2003, and was subsequently held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2004, and again in Mumbai in 2005.

'The hosting of two exhibitions of the stature of Front and Roof and Cladding Middle East concurrently is an indication of the boom that the Middle East construction industry is currently experiencing,'

said Mr. Saif Al Midfa, Director General of Expo Centre Sharjah.

'The primary aim of holding these two events together at the same venue and at the same time is to integrate the regional construction sector. Furthermore, looking at the rapid pace at which the Middle East construction industry is currently growing, it was felt that such an extended sourcing platform under a single roof was necessary for the convenience of the region's construction sector,' he added.

The construction sector in the region, both in the public as well as the private sector, is presently on a high. Whereas the public sector is witnessing the construction of a large number of hospitals, mosques, fire stations, tourist facilities, educational institutions, the private sector is focusing on building hotels, leisure and commercial developments, shopping malls, apartment blocks, condominiums and trade towers.

It is estimated that currently there are 1,400 on-going projects in the Gulf region with a value of over USD $ 695 billion. The total construction spend in the GCC, Iran, and Iraq, at present is around USD $ 294 billion.

The Roof & Cladding Middle East exhibitions and Front are strictly trade only events and will attract architects, engineers, consultants, planners, interior designers, importers, contractors, traders, property managers, investors, and government officials from across the Middle East.

A major highlight of the two shows will be the seminars and product presentations that will be held on the sidelines. They will be addressed by key players in the regional construction industry and will throw light on the latest innovations in construction related products and technologies and also address concerns facing the sector.