Dubai's key heavy equipment expo to be relocated

The Big 5 PMV – an expo of heavy equipment and machinery used in the construction sector – will be relocated this year to the Dubai International Exhibition Centre alongside the BIG 5, one of the largest exhibitions for the construction industry in the region, said the organisers.

Streamline Marketing Group, which organises both events, said the change in venue of the Big 5 PMV will benefit exhibitors and visitors alike. The annual event was held at the Dubai Airport Expo until last year. From November 23 to 27 this year, it will be held for the first time under the same roof as the main BIG 5 event. As the two events pertain to the same industry, visitors will be saved the trouble of shuttling between the two venues.

"Now that the Big 5 PMV has relocated to the Dubai International Exhibition Centre, at the same venue as the BIG 5, developers and contractors will find a wide selection of construction products and services that can increase their profits and productivity," said Nick Webb, Director of Streamline Marketing Group.

More than 300 leading PMV suppliers are expected at this year's Big 5 PMV. The exhibition is the region's premier event dedicated to plant, machinery and construction vehicles, and, is set to grow this year by 35 per cent over last year, said the organisers.

As the region's construction industry faces rising costs of materials and labour shortages, the plant, machinery and vehicles sector is poised for unprecedented success, according to an industry leader.

Simon Jevons, Construction Products Manager of Sigma PMV, a Dubai-based construction equipment supplier, said the current market conditions will force contractors to look for more efficient practices, such as mechanisation and labour saving tools.

Sigma Enterprises, the parent company of Sigma PMV will exhibit at the show for the second time and its stand will be more than two and-a-half times bigger than 2007.

"Investment in the right type of machinery to undertake labour intensive processes is an obvious choice for contractors as workforce and material costs increase. Modern construction methods can reduce labour costs by as much as a factor of 10," said Jevons.

The cost of materials increased dramatically over the last year, with the prices of cement and steel surging by 50 and 70 per cent respectively. Steel reinforcement bar (rebar) saw a 35 per cent price hike and cement a 15 per cent rise just between the months of May and July, according to mesteel.com.

Rising material costs are compounded by increasing labour shortages in the UAE, after approximately 250,000 illegal labourers took advantage of the government's amnesty programme last year and left the country, which had a huge impact on the local construction sector.