New products and technologies, a heavy machinery and vehicle outdoor area, a new Interiors Products Zone and the FM Congress are the highlights of The Big 5 Kuwait, the country’s largest building exhibition, which opened today (September 22).

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, the event will run until September 24 at the Kuwait International Fair.

Several leading architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, project managers, procurement managers, property developers, contractors, facility and contracts managers and interior designers are attending the event to source products, learn and network.

The visitors were delighted with the new and innovative products from exhibitors coming over from 15 countries, said the event organisers, dmg events.

The overwhelming response received by The Big 5 Kuwait 2014 on the first day further consolidates its position as Kuwait’s largest building and construction show, they added.

Commenting on the first day of the show, Mohammed Ahmed Bin Fahad, a visitor from the UAE, said: "I am so pleased to visit again this year’s edition of The Big 5 Kuwait where I found a lot of interesting and big exhibitors.”

The Big 5 Kuwait FM Congress, an informative insight into the facilities management (FM) sector in Kuwait, was held on the first day.

Numerous case studies, which included topics such as ‘Does Kuwait need three new billion dollar hospitals and 5,000 new beds?’ and ‘Initiatives for Improvements in FM Project’, were presented.

United Facilities Management, a leading Kuwaiti company, gave a valuable insight on Kuwait’s expanding FM sector with the presentation by the director of operations Paul Zalloua.

Ahmad Yousef Al Kandari, the vice chairman and CEO of United Facilities Management, said this year’s event provided an in-depth look at the local, regional and international FM and construction sectors.

"The Big 5 Kuwait has highlighted the significance of these services and showed why they should be considered in the design, development and construction phases," he noted.

A key highlight of the first day was the Round Table Zone, an open forum that enables construction professionals to discuss issues critical to the local construction industry.

The Round Table discussions will continue tomorrow with industry-specific topics such as ‘How can you effectively outsource FM contracts?’ and ‘How can you avoid disputes in the construction industry?’, said the organisers.

Free certified workshops led by industry experts will begin tomorrow (September 23), including the popular Project Management workshop, which will tackle the creation of a robust project planning documents and project control systems, among others.

Besides this, two more workshops ‘Managing FM Contracts & SLAs’ and ‘Introduction to LEED version 4’ will also be held.

A major highlight of the second day will be the popular 'How to Trade in Kuwait' seminar. It will provide guidelines for business opportunities and investments in Kuwait to help international investors who are keen on tapping into the country’s lucrative market, said the organisers.

The half-day session will cover diverse topics including local partners, taxation requirement, and licensing, permits and visas, it added.-TradeArabia News Service