With the region’s appetite for construction picking up, The Big 5, the region's leading construction industry event, is set to host a major expo for the concrete industry in Dubai.

The Middle East Concrete (MEC), a new event designed to be the essential showcase for everything related to the concrete business, will be co-located with The Big 5 expo from November 21 to 24, said the organisers, DMG events.

The inaugural MEC will be a one-stop shop covering everything from raw materials and logistics to precast products/ training and certification in the industry, they said.

With this new launch, the Big 5 is aiming for the global stage especially at a time when the GCC infrastructure spending has hit half a trillion dollars, the organisers added.

Far from being just a static, indoor show, MEC will take over the Trade Center plaza for interactive live demonstrations of the latest plant and equipment, offering hands-on experience on the latest techniques to concrete industry professionals.

Nathan Waugh, MEC exhibition manager at DMG events, said: "Concrete is at the heart of every construction project. With such a huge and diverse range of applications, from the practical to the decorative, readymix to precast, and all the technology and products supporting it, clearly a dedicated event addressing all the needs of the industry in the region is long overdue."

"Rather than just a trade exhibition, we’ve included a conference, panels, workshops and seminars to the mix," Waugh noted.

"With many of the region’s biggest players looking to expand their business activities in 2011, technical knowledge, innovation and training are key components one can’t exclude. The conference element with panel discussions, workshops and seminars will address these issues," he added.

Andy White, event director for The Big 5, pointed out that there was no other concrete industry event that provided such a rounded business and networking experience as MEC.

“The fact that it is co-located with The Big 5 is a huge plus, being located right at the centre of the biggest construction industry event in the region. It’s a unique synergy of having both your own industry plus a collection of the entire industry represented at The Big 5 at the same place.”

Leo Liao, deputy general manager, of the UAE Branch of the construction plant manufacturer Sany, said: "MEC at The Big 5 provides Sany with the perfect platform to display the latest concrete pumping products and other heavy machinery to buyers across the whole region, at a time when spending on heavy construction equipment is increasing."

"The event is being held at a time when infrastructure development throughout the region is continuing unabated," he remarked.

According to a report by research analysts Ventures ME released in April, the GCC is planning projects worth a massive $3 trillion. Of that, about $452 billion worth of projects are ongoing across the six member states, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar accounting for almost 80 per cent of that total.

With concrete being essential to these projects, analysts are predicting increased demand across the board, and are setting their outlook for the industry as ‘positive’.

“The GCC construction sector is rebounding,” said Waugh. "Last year alone, construction contracts worth $196 billion were awarded in the GCC."

"A lot of this investment is for road, rail, energy and other infrastructure developments, and it’s these projects that are driving growth in the region and contributing to the increase in demand for innovative concrete products and services," he added.-TradeArabia News Service