Strong industry support for newest, largest exhibition hall in the Middle East

Exhibitors and organisers have also offered strong support, saying the new hall enables them to continue the year-on-year growth of their events.

Construction of Zabeel Hall commenced in January 2006 under the direction of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan, in recognition of the increasing demand for more space from existing and new exhibition and event organisers.

Adding an extra 15,000 square metres of exhibition space to DICEC, the new Zabeel Hall increases current available capacity by 30 percent, enabling major shows to attract a higher number of regional and international exhibitors than ever before.

Significant trade exhibitions such as Big 5, Index, Arab Health, and Gitex have announced that this increased capacity will enable them to meet immediately the demands of businesses wanting to take advantage of their shows' expansion, as well as the ongoing growth of Dubai and the region.

In fact, over 1,100 additional new companies have been able to participate in these four shows in the next three months because of the completion of the new Hall.

This includes the impressive German pavilion at Big 5 which, at a staggering 7,000 square metres, is the single largest German pavilion ever hosted at any trade exhibition outside of Germany and will occupy the entire Zabeel Hall.

The expansion has also enabled the organisers of GITEX, the region's largest IT exhibition, to launch a separate telecommunications event, GULFCOMMS, which will use the entirety of Zabeel Hall and run in conjunction with GITEX.

Dubai already holds the number one position in the Middle East's events market, hosting approximately 2,350 corporate meetings, exhibitions and conventions in 2005, according to figures from Dubai Tourism Authority, and DICEC is firmly established as the most prestigious and the number one choice as a venue in the region.

'We are delighted that Zabeel Hall is receiving such strong support from our clients. Our development plans aim to ensure that the facilities' size and specification will meet the exacting requirements of our broad client base,'

said DWTC Director General Helal Saeed Al Marri.

Exhibition organisers have responded positively to the opening of the new hall, booking the space in advance for shows in 2007 and 2008, in order to launch and promote new products and services in the advanced environment of Zabeel Hall.

The team have also received a significant number of enquiries for using Zabeel Hall as a prestigious wedding venue.

The construction of the new Zabeel Hall is the first phase of a longer-term AED 16 billion 'Master plan' involving a major redevelopment and enhancement of the present DWTC complex to include a state-of-the-art convention centre, office and residential towers, hotels and hotel apartments and shopping facilities.