More than 400 global providers of stone, marble and ceramics are exhibiting at the upcoming Middle East Stone, the region’s biggest dedicated event of its kind, in Dubai, UAE.

The event takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from September 4 to 6.

Expanding to take up in excess of 16,000 sq m of space, the exhibition will welcome its largest-ever pool of international pavilions from Turkey, Italy, Brazil, Iran, Portugal and China as the UAE cements its position as the Middle East and Africa’s leading import and export hub for stone.

Yan Wang, Middle East Stone event director, said: “Dubai and the UAE lead the way in terms of the stone trade in the region, which makes Dubai the perfect host city for our show.

“Building on the legacies of our first three exhibitions, Middle East Stone 2018 is aiming to transform the route into this surging market for stone suppliers from around the world who are keen to strike as the region gears up for what will be perhaps the biggest decade in its history in regards to urban growth and infrastructure advancement.

“These vast projects come in the lead up to the likes of Dubai Expo 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030, two of the key reasons the Middle Eastern stone market is experiencing such buoyancy. Not only will the exhibition look to bring international stone suppliers to one of the highest-spending construction markets in the world, but it will offer insight, technologies and networking solutions that won’t be found at any other show in the region.”

According to market analysts BNC, the GCC currently accounts for 20 per cent of the global stone market. Economically, that is said to be worth in excess of $5 billion a year and is expected to account for 19.6 billion tonnes of stone by 2020.

Across the region, urban construction accounts for 80 per cent of all stone usage, being at the heart of residential, commercial, hospitality and infrastructural developments.

As of last year, BNC estimated there to be 20,885 active construction projects taking place in the GCC – with the UAE and Saudi Arabia constituting for approximately 70 per cent of that.

Middle East Stone has grown year on year, with 2017’s exhibition welcoming 253 exhibitors from 26 countries. Of last year’s 20,000-plus participants, 80 per cent – or four in every five – had a buying capacity in excess of $100,000.

Along with its stone procuring opportunities, Middle East Stone will once again host three days of CPD-certified workshops and talks at its ever popular Stone Conference. The Live Product Demonstration, an interactive display of the most innovative products and technologies in the stone and fit-out industry, will give visitors the opportunity to get a first-hand experience of the products and services reshaping the construction and stone industry too.

Big name firms already confirmed to be exhibiting their unique stone catalogues include SMG, Sun Italia, Rathath Marble, Aseel Marble and Sabta Granite.

Yan Wang added: “Every area of our show will have nearly doubled in size for 2018; from our exhibitor numbers through to the physical size of the exhibition. It’s an impossible to miss opportunity for suppliers to get your stone in the hands of those who need it, and for buyers to get the materials they need to build projects of all scales and sizes.” – TradeArabia News Service