AS THE construction sector gears up for the most important five days on the Gulf’s building and construction industry calendar, organisers of The Big 5 report that pre-registrations are at record levels with a larger exhibitor space having been made available for this year’s event.

The Big 5, the leading international building and construction show, is set to take place next month (November 23 to 26) at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) in Dubai, UAE.
“Registration is already looking positive, with visitors from more than 70 countries signed up to attend,” says Paula Al Chami, show director for The Big 5. “The show will be 15 per cent bigger than 2008 in terms of exhibition space, and has grown to include the new halls being constructed at the venue. The show is almost fully sold out, with 92 per cent of the 43,000 sq m floor space booked.”
dmg world media Dubai, the organiser, sees the response as very positive signs for an upturn in the UAE’s construction industry.
“The Big 5 exhibition is somewhat of a barometer for the construction industry and we are extremely positive that business is starting to stabilise. We seem to be bucking the trend of some other trade shows, which has been reflected in the increased floor space and the right level of industry people signing up,” she comments. “Clearly, this has been a year of a slow down in growth in construction, but it seems that The Big 5 is coming at just the right time when the industry is starting to look up again and will be able to put a considerable amount of speculation to rest.”
dmg research has shown that, despite the economic downturn, the Middle East construction industry will keep growing at an annual rate of 3.5 per cent in the next five years, ranking third behind Asia and significantly ahead of Europe or Northern America. “The region is a perfect gateway for the Indian sub-continent and Asia and is, therefore, in a strong position to provide access to the two regions with the highest expected construction growth in the next two years,” she comments.
Some 3,000 exhibitors from almost every continent are expected to showcase a diverse spectrum of products, including innovative product launches, earmarked for the show in a bid to target the estimated $3.1 trillion construction projects market in the Gulf.
The Big 5 has grown from strength to strength with last year’s show having played host to 2,830 exhibitors from 53 countries and 50,000 visitors. Spread over a space of 38,000 sq m, last year’s event – though also held under the shadow of a global meltdown – was one of the most successful events and boasted as a highlight the launch of the annual series of The Gaia Awards, which has become one of the most coveted environmental honours in the construction sector.
As the largest event of its kind in the Middle East, The Big 5 provides an unrivalled platform for architects, engineers, contractors and developers from the public and private sectors to network, source and specify the latest building and construction products and services.
Featuring national pavilions from all major exporting countries of the world, the show provides the most comprehensive product offering for the building and construction industry.
The expo covers seven core industry segments: building and construction, water technology and environment, air-conditioning and refrigeration, cleaning and maintenance, glass and metal, bathrooms and ceramics, and marble and stone.
The show will also feature an impressive line-up of added-value elements including a key buyers’ programme, product seminars, a conference programme, and the acclaimed Gaia Awards.
The conference will be held at Monarch Hotel, Dubai, on November 24 and 25 and topics discussed will include sustainability and green environment engineering, energy-saving solutions and district cooling, intelligent systems in transportation, structural design and implementation in high-rise buildings, disputes and contract management resolution and project management enhancing quality in construction.
Other new features at the show include a focus on facility services, facility construction and site infrastructure.
Running alongside The Big 5 is The Big 5 PMV, a specialist show for plant, heavy machinery and large vehicles, which is staged by Streamline Marketing Group, in conjunction with dmg world media. The PMV will now be held under the same roof as The Big 5 within newly-built exhibition halls – The Arena, Sheikh Saeed Halls.

The green factor
The Gaia Awards, the region’s recognition of ‘green’ technology and products in the construction world, is now in its second year. Entries for the awards are accepted from all Big 5 2009 exhibitors whose products and services exhibited at the show could demonstrate a reduction in impact on the environment.
Named after the Greek goddess of the Earth, the awards have proved to be a great success, and have been shown to be much more than just a trophy, they have actually helped business, says dmg world media Dubai.
Previous winners have cited that their clients have valued the accolade as a stamp of environmental approval, increasing clients’ confidence in their products and encouraging them to develop further initiatives and products which will be showcased at this year’s event:
 “Environmental awareness is becoming increasingly important within the construction industry in the Middle East; new building regulations in the UAE, for example, require that all new buildings meet international green building standards,” says a spokesman for dmg world media. “Recognising this, The Big 5 has made the environment a key priority for the 2009 exhibition. The event is uniquely placed to provide a platform for the industry to discuss environmental matters and to showcase best practice, as it brings together construction companies from across the globe.”
Launched in 2008, The Gaia Awards aims to honour companies whose products and services demonstrate a reduction of construction’s impact on the environment and provide a medium for companies to highlight their ‘green’ products and discuss future developments
The winner of the Gold Gaia Award and two silver awards last year was Tiger Profiles and Insulation (TPI). Rosy Salameh, assistant executive director of TPI, comments: “Winning the Gold Gaia Award last year for Solasteel as well as two silvers for our Solacoat products was a significant achievement for the company and this year we hope to repeat our success as we launch a range of new ‘green’ products at The Big 5. For clients, it is a sign of added value that we can say we are Gaia Award winners.”
Hatim Abu-Eideh from Concrete Technology, a 2008 ‘green’ finalist, echoes Salameh’s sentiments: “Being a finalist at the Gaia Awards 2008 was, and still is a huge achievement for the company and it gives our clients extra confidence in our products. The production of ‘green’ products has continued and we are hoping to release this information at The Big 5 2009.”
Mayur Porecha of Constromech, also a finalist in 2008, adds: “Being named as a finalist at The Gaia Awards 2008 meant we were recognised for contributing towards a greener future. Since receiving this recognition, we have been developing further ‘green’ products to provide alternative cooling products to the traditional air-conditioning for the industrial sector, something which has in the past had a great negative impact on the environment.”
The Gaia Awards are judged by a panel of industry experts who consider various criteria, including if the product meets fundamental innovation criteria; does it show world-leading technology; does it have innovative features; does it generate high-level benefits to other building systems; and is it energy efficient or fully recyclable.
Awards are presented to one overall ‘gold’ winner, with ‘silver, ‘bronze’ and ‘finalist’ accolades presented to companies who, to varying degrees, have developed products that are environment friendly.
The judges include David Baggs, CEO, technical director and co-founder of Ecospecifier Global; Armen Vartanian, director of EcoVentures; Dr Ashraf Hegazy, chairman of the Sustainability Committee of Aldar Properties; Dr Bassam Abu-Hijleh, Atkins’ chair and head of the Sustainable Design of the Built Environment programme, The British University in Dubai; Holley Chant, KEO International’s corporate sustainability director; and Samuel Keehn, environmental and sustainability manager, Energy Management Services, Inter-national.
“The Big 5 has the opportunity to help shape the environmental agenda for the construction industry in the region,” says Simon Mellor, vice-president of construction for dmg world media. “The Gaia Awards, in addition to our moves this year to become carbon neutral, demonstrate that we are not just paying lip-service to these issues, we are actually leading by example, and we look forward to some innovative and ground-breaking environment-friendly products featuring in this year’s show.”

A joint eco venture
The Big 5 is working with the region’s premier emissions reduction firm, the UAE-based EcoVentures, to reduce its own carbon footprint this year by endeavouring to have any emissions associated with the event reduced to net zero, as it takes the first steps towards going carbon neutral.
A recent survey carried out by EcoVentures on UAE-based companies and local branches of multinationals in the UAE showed an advanced level of environmental awareness and a motivation for action amongst all companies, with the majority having already having taken substantive steps towards reducing their environmental footprint.
The survey found that 86 per cent of UAE-based companies and 78 per cent of multinational companies already have an environmental strategy, and this is expected to increase within the next two years. Many companies either already have environmental committees in place, or will establish one within the next two years.
Customers are increasingly environmentally conscious, with 91 per cent of companies reporting that their customers care about their environmental performance.
Despite this high level of environmental awareness, only a surprising 28 per cent of companies report having calculated their carbon footprint, although 71 per cent of UAE-based companies and 61 per cent of multinationals report that they will calculate it within two years.
About 93 per cent of UAE-based companies and 78 per cent of multinationals have attempted to reduce their firms’ environmental footprint through energy-saving measures, and this is expected to increase over the next two years.