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Sharjah’s Real Estate Industry Safe: Midfa

SHARJAH - The Real estate industry will remain unaffected in Sharjah and other emirates, despite the on-going global financial crunch, though the inflow of foreign capital might have slowed down, said the Director-General of Sharjah Expo Centre, Saif Mohammed Al Midfa.

He noted that regional as well as local investment in the construction sector continues to remain strong and this will propel the sector to greater heights.

Midfa was speaking at the Expo Centre in Sharjah, during the Conmex Middle East event, which is the region’s largest, and highly focused exhibition, exclusively dedicated to the construction industry. He also refereed to the government’s support of the financial sector in the country, which he pointed out, will go a long way in ensuring that there is enough liquidity in the market and maintaining the growth momentum in all sectors of the economy.

The four day event which was officially opened by Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ports Authority was an ideal platform for industry representatives to shop for their latest high-tech equipment, technoligical expertise for various types of buildings etc. Nearly 300 brands from over 30 countries from around the globe including Germany, Italy, UK, USA, Turkey, India, Iran, China, Taiwan, Singapore, UAE, etc. exhibited at the event.

The event was a unique one in that it had both indoor and outdoor displays. The major highlight of Conmex was the live demonstration of tower cranes, Fork-lifts, earthmovers, concrete batching plants, and other light and medium

range machinery, equipment, and vehicles, in the display area outside Expo Centre Sharjah.

Present during the event were Fasahat Ali Khan, Adviser to the Chairman and Board of Directors of Expo Centre Sharjah, officials of various government departments, and members of the diplomatic corps and trade associations.

According to UAE Central Bank statistics, the construction sector in the country grew by more than 25 per cent in 2007 the highest increase among key contributors to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The sector shot up by 25.4 per cent from Dh46.4 billion in 2006 to Dh58.3 billion last year, the Central Bank figures showed. It was the country’s fastest expanding industry, surpassing growth in the dominant oil sector, which stood at 18.5 per cent, according to a Press release. In the GCC, the construction industry, including projects that are under way as well as those in the planning stage, is valued at nearly US$2 trillion in nominal terms. Midfa urged industry and trade representatives to take full advantage of the exhibition. “The unprecedented construction activities in the region have thrown up several opportunities for the sector,” said Fasahat Ali Khan. A seminar on “How to control time delays and budget overruns in building Projects was also among the agend and presented at the Conference Hall of Expo Centre Sharjah.”Another major highlight of this year’s Conmex was the product launches which was held on the sidelines of the event. More than 40 product launches were held at the previous show, which attracted more than 8,000 trade visitors from 65 countries,” according to the release.

Trade visitors to Conmex not only explored business opportunities, networked and finalised deals but also got a clear picture of technological breakthroughs taking place in the sector globally.

The show was jointly organised by IMAG, Messe Munich, organisers of BAUMA, and Expo Centre Sharjah, the exhibition organisation of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

IMAG is a member of the Munich International Trade Fairs Group, which is the organiser of BAUMA, the largest construction machinery show in the world.