Amongst all the hype surrounding this year’s Saudi Build, there was also a fair amount of uncertainty.
Would the new booming construction market of the region deliver an event on-par with the dizzying heights of Dubai’s Big 5? Or, would it fizz under the pressure of logistical problems, lack of local interest and visa constraints for international visitors?
The truth is that Saudi Build appeared to fall somewhere in the middle. While the number of exhibitors and visitors were both up by around 50% on last year, many of the region’s big construction suppliers, both local and international, were still noticeably absent.
Presumably this is because many of the dominant local companies don’t feel the need to promote themselves and many of the international firms are still finding their feet in Saudi, which isn’t the easiest place to penetrate.
Whatever the case, the exhibitors that were in attendance had nothing but good things to say about the event and probably didn’t mind the fact that some of the competition was missing.
A reoccurring sentiment was that while visitor numbers were low by Big 5 standards, the quality of visitor in terms of their position and decision making power was high and as such business leads were strong.
Most importantly, the exhibitors seemed genuinely excited about the year ahead. Not since last year’s Cityscape have I sensed so much optimism in a convention hall.
Suppliers are placing a lot of faith in the Saudi Arabian government and the oil and gas industry, which are said to be announcing a number of huge projects within the next 12 months.
One can only assume that next year’s event will be bigger and better as more international companies get into the market and force everyone in the Kingdom to pay more attention to promoting themselves.
As one new exhibitor put it; Saudi Arabia is a big cake, and we are here to take a slice.
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