The Big 5, the largest construction industry event in the region, opens its doors next month at Dubai World Trade Centre, drawing more than 2,000 exhibitors and 55,000 global attendees from over 150 countries into the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region which is riding high on a whopping $6.5 trillion projects– $3.5 trillion already under way and a further $2.9 trillion in the pipeline.

Among the most-influential industry events, The Big 5 is now a one-stop shop for the global construction community to meet face to face, learn and sign partnerships in the region and beyond, say the organisers dmg events, even as the Middle East market keeps attracting industry professionals, disruptors, innovators, suppliers, stakeholders, ESG advisors and international policymakers.

As per the data released by ABiQ, the event’s knowledge partner, the Middle East alone accounts for $3.5 trillion worth of the total combined MEA value, while North Africa is responsible for $879 billion.

Running from December 5 to 8, The Big 5 will be capitalising on the massive investment opportunities, giving visitors access to thousands of innovative products, knowledge and new contacts that will help them drive their business forward.

CPD-certified talks and summits are among the highlights of The Big 5 portfolio of events.

This year, the spotlight will be on eight major product segments as well as six specialised events, enabling industry professionals to source worldwide building solutions for every stage of construction – The Big 5 Heavy, Middle East Concrete, HVAC R Expo, Middle East Stone, the Urban Design & Landscape Expo, and FM Expo.

Middle East Concrete and The Big 5 Heavy will bring together the concrete supply chain and heavy machinery players;  Middle East Stone will cater to the regional stone industry; the Urban Design & Landscape Expo will focus on new ground-breaking landscape, infrastructure, and urban development solutions; FM Expo will cater to facilities management professionals offering new technologies to support them in safely maintaining their assets; and finally the HVAC R Expo that focuses on providing healthy air-conditioning for new-build, retrofit, or maintenance programmes.

These events will be supported by a collection of CPD (Continuing Professional Development)-certified talks and summits, providing attendees with insights on the latest market trends and actionable best practices.

Coming back this year, The Big 5 Global Construction Leaders’ Summit will feature key industry stakeholders and disruptors from outside the sector to discuss new ways forward with a busy day filled with knowledge-sharing to future-proof the industry.

Endorsing The Big 5 show, the UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei calls for industry collaboration as smart technology looks to shape the future of construction and aligns with the government’s vision and mission towards strengthening the partnerships between public and private sectors.

“The government is determined to develop policies, laws, and regulations to support and diversify the national economy by launching integrated investment projects, enabling innovative capabilities, and enhancing skills on the regional and international levels,” says the minister.

The Big 5 is expected to attract 55,000 global attendees from over 150 countries.

“The Big 5 Global Construction Leaders’ Summit brings into attention the critical role the construction sector plays in developing infrastructure and achieving the sustainability of the national economy. It also contributes to exploring prospects for cooperation with our partners to achieve more dependence on modern technologies in the various sectors of the construction sector.

“These have the potential to keep pace with digital transformation, in line with the government’s ambitious vision to realise its future goals and global sector leadership,” he adds.

In its 43rd edition, The Big 5 will feature new initiatives - The Big 5 Global Construction Impact Summit and Everything Architecture.  The summit will see disruptive thinkers, innovators, and ESG advisors assess the construction ecosystem and collaborate to support the achievement of ambitious regional net-zero targets.

Exclusively created for architects, designers, specifiers, and property developers, the debut Everything Architecture event will present revolutionary solutions that can rapidly transform the sector.

Ben Greenish, Senior Vice President Construction of dmg events, says: “ Global leaders will seek to future-proof the construction sector through collaboration, sustainability, and technology. This portfolio of events aims at ensuring participants get to meet the people most appropriate to their specific area of business, and that visitors can make the most of their attendance by quickly accessing the exhibitors most relevant to their operations.”

The show will also host Digital Construction World with Start-up City, which will see technology disruptors from nine nations demonstrated solutions in front of construction stakeholders and decision-makers.

Competing start-ups will propose solutions for the contech, proptech, infratech, sustainability and energy sectors, while the FutureTech Construction Summit will encompass keynotes and discussions on the impact of technology for the future, embracing and implementing disruptive technology and people, collaboration and inspiration.

A key highlight of the expo will be The Big 5 Construction Impact Awards to honour the people, organisations, and projects that are driving sustainable development, innovation, and transformation in the region’s bouyant construction industry.

Across 17 comprehensive categories, these awards will celebrate the achievements and transformation of the construction industry that go beyond traditional measures of project delivery.