Last month Big 5 returned to Jeddah for the third time since its launch in 2011. More than 500 exhibitors participated from 36 countries to showcase services, construction assets and technologies.
Nathan Waugh, Portfolio director DMG events, spoke to Saudi Gazette about the largest exhibition in the country. With an estimated $200 billion spend in construction planned over the next two years and much more in the pipeline, Saudi Arabia is likely to remain the dominant construction market in the GCC for the foreseeable future. Waugh said that according to the MENA Projects Tracker published by Citi there are currently over $2 trillion worth of projects in GCC countries, with 60% of those taking place in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In terms of country spend, Saudi Arabia leads the way with $784 billion worth of projects, followed by the UAE with $669 million.
SG: How was this year's Big 5 Saudi event?
NW: The Big 5 Saudi 2015 has been the most successful show to date, with the majority of the 545 exhibitors reporting fantastic levels of business undertaken during the four days of the exhibition. This year the event witnessed a remarkable increase in participants' numbers, from exhibitors, to workshop attendees, and media representatives. The success of the show is testimony to Saudi Arabia's commitment to investing in and building a sustainable nation that will ultimately benefit the economy. We are delighted to see that in the space of five years, The Big 5 Saudi has become the leading international building and construction event in the country. With $3 trillion worth of development projects due to start in the Kingdom by 2020, what does this mean to you and how does this impact the future?
Saudi Arabia is undergoing one of the biggest construction booms in the world. With a number of multimillion dollar projects currently under construction and more in the pipeline, the Kingdom is set to continue to invest in major projects. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected the country's economy will grow 4.5 percent this year and next.? Construction is a key economic driver in Saudi Arabia, providing a platform for almost every industry and strongly contributing towards the employment of Saudi nationals while providing growth potential to local businesses. The construction sector showed the highest non-oil GDP growth rate (6.7%) in 2014, and the 2015 budget demonstrates the continuation of the previous year's diversification plan, which provides major construction spending in key government segments.
What do you think defines the Saudi market and how is it different to the rest of the GCC especially Dubai? Saudi Arabia's population is approximately 70% Saudi and 30% expatriate, with a total population of 28.8 million. The combined population of the rest of the GCC countries is 19.85 million. This positions Saudi Arabia as the single most important market in the region. Not to mention that Saudi remains one of the largest oil exporters in the world, ranking second in 2014, and is thus economically very stable. With the significant boost in development projects in Saudi Arabia over the last decade, the country's growth has been steady in comparison to other GCC nations.
Tell us about yourself and the journey with Big 5.
I joined DMG Events in 2010, as an Event Director and I am responsible for a group of ten annual B2B events in the Middle East including The Big 5 Saudi in Jeddah, KSA. Overall, across the ten events I am responsible for turnover in excess of $14 million and visitor numbers in excess of 35,000. mI have been in events management for 12 years, having worked with a major UK organizer for seven years prior to joining DMG Events.
What do you think are the major developments and how has this enabled you to progress in the MENA region?
The construction sector in the GCC region has experienced huge growth over the past decade. The region has seen some of the world's large construction projects, such as the GCC railway project, the FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium in Qatar, Makkah Grand Mosque expansion project in Saudi Arabia and the Palm Islands projects in Dubai. Despite the recent economic crisis that the world went through, the construction sector in the GCC remains promising. Since 2006, over $500 billion worth of civil construction projects have been awarded in the six GCC nations. Additionally, the total of planned construction projects exceeds $1.09 trillion, which is approximately two-thirds of the GCC's entire annual GDP. The Big 5 Saudi is the fastest growing and most innovative construction event in the Kingdom. Launched in 2011, the event has quickly established itself as one of the most popular international construction events in the region. Every year since inauguration, it has witnessed substantial growth — nearly 90 percent to date. The Big 5 Saudi has grown from 300 exhibitors in 2011 to more than 540 in 2014; from 9,000 visitors in 2011 to more than 15,000 in 2014. And the overall space has grown from 7,000sqm in 2011 to an anticipated size of 20,000sqm in 2015.
What were the major achievements at The Big 5 Saudi this year? How do you help facilitate knowledge and sales particularly?
The Big 5 Saudi has grown at a rapid rate, figures have more than doubled over the past five years. There has been strong interest in Saudi Arabia as a whole over the last few years and this has positively impacted the construction industry across the whole region. We are now seeing more and more international exhibitors coming from far and wide with an interest in conducting business in Saudi. Our international exhibitors have seen some fantastic returns on their investment over the years and we look forward to welcoming them back this year. In Saudi Arabia, the construction market is in need of a strong foundation, which is why The Big 5 Saudi has gone from strength to strength. It brings together decision-makers, procurement managers, international visitors, and large companies for four days, providing them with the opportunity to network and see first-hand what new products are on the market. With the growing need for education in the construction field, The Big 5 Saudi offered educational seminars and workshops, led by local and international experts who provided their point of view on the industry and predictions for the year ahead. These seminars covered areas such as asset maintenance, project management, market overview and an introduction to the LEED rating system.
How has the construction industry evolved during the last decade? How do you see the future? Any predictions.
The global construction sector continues to recover from the ramifications of several years of economic and financial crisis. The recent global drop in oil prices will have a positive impact on the industry as a whole. This is largely due to the lower manufacturing and logistic costs for most building materials, especially petroleum-based building materials, meaning that the cost of materials asphalt, roofing materials, insulation, plastic materials, steel and PVC piping will also drop. In addition to that, the Construction sector has seen very strong growth in the adoption of technology, such as smartphones and tablet devices, whether in design or in construction. In my opinion, the industry will continue to grow, especially in the Middle East and in the future, we expect to see cutting edge innovations, such as 3D printing, making a greater impact on the regional construction sector. From another perspective, the industry has significantly increased the adoption of sustainability in the past 10 years, largely due to the increase of awareness on global warming.
