RIYADH, 6 October — An international exhibition of building materials will be inaugurated here tomorrow against the backdrop of a booming construction sector, which will attract some $35 billion capital investment within the next five years.
There are some 200 major construction projects currently underway in different parts of Saudi Arabia, according to a senior official of the Riyadh Exhibition Center (REC), where the “Saudi Build/Stone 2001” show will be held.
The official said Riyadh will have more construction projects in near future. “Riyadh, whose population will double from 3.3 million to 6 million within the next six years, has already witnessed an eight-fold growth over the last two decades,” he said.
He said the show, the first of its in the Middle East, is likely to attract some 30,000 trade and business visitors, who will discover this show as an international forum for exchanging information and clinching on-the-spot business deals.
The five-day exhibition will have participation from more than 150 local and international companies and many exporters from a number of European and Asian countries.
These companies, he said, will showcase a range of building materials, decorative tiles, ceramics, stones and bathroom fittings besides innovative technology and services. He said that Thailand and Turkey will also participate in the event. Turkey will be participating in the show for the first time under the sponsorship of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce.
Germany will be exhibiting the latest technology in building sector including metal bending machines, pipes, plumbing materials, construction cranes and lighting fixtures.
A large number of joint-venture companies from Saudi Arabia, as well as several local Saudi companies, will also attend the event, looking for business relations, joint-ventures and imports of high-tech machines and building materials.
