Jafza attracts huge industry interest during The Big 5

More than 1,500 industry leaders from different construction industry sectors visited the Jafza booth, which had prime location on the main concourse.

Jafza's presence at the exhibition as Free Zone Partner of The Big 5 led to seven business delegations, mainly from the Middle East, Asia and Europe, visiting Jafza facilities in Jebel Ali. Each of these delegations showed keen interest in setting-up their base in the Free Zone, and during the course of the 4-day event 7 companies signed Lease Agreements with Jafza.

Senior Jafza and EZW management were available throughout the exhibition to attend to customer queries and network with exhibitors and media.

Top EZW executives including Mrs. Salma Hareb, CEO of Economic Zones World, Mr. Talal Al Hashimi, Managing Director, EZW-UAE Region and Mr. Ibrahim Al Janahi, Deputy CEO of Jafza visited leading exhibitors, including Jafza companies, during the exhibition.

Ibrahim Al Janahi, Deputy CEO, Jafza, highlighted the construction boom in the Middle East and the emerging opportunities for construction industry in the region.

Referring to a recent report by BofA Merrill Lynch Ibrahim Al Janahi said, "An estimated $4.2 trillion will be invested in construction projects across the Middle East and North Africa region by 2020, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) representing the largest slice at $698bn. At present, construction projects worth more than $1 trillion are underway in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar alone."

"This affords major opportunities for industry majors in the construction sector from across the world. Jafza, Middle East's trade and logistics hub, offers perfect platform to the investors from where they can reach the entire region efficiently," he added.

Jafza's impressive presence at the exhibition reinforced its strategic strength as the region's unbeatable trade and logistics hub. Jafza is currently home to over 6,700 of the world's finest companies, including 120 Global Fortune 500 enterprises. There are currently over 1,350 construction companies contributing to Jafza's success and accounting for roughly 20% of Jafza companies. These construction companies in the Free Zone generated over $4bn in trade in 2011.

Mr. Adil Al Zarooni, SVP of Global Sales, Jafza expanded on the importance of the construction industry in Jafza and Jafza's ideal location, infrastructure and products speaking at the seminar "How to Trade in the UAE" and the "Trade and Invest in Brazil" seminar. Mr. Zarooni covered key points such as Jafza's competitive position within reach of a market of over 2 billion people, the ease of doing business within Jafza's logistics infrastructure, direct access to Jebel Ali Port and Jafza current and future initiatives to attract increasing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Jafza and Dubai.