(January 2009) Over 3200 companies from 53 countries exhibited their goods and services in November 2008 at The Big 5 trade fair in Dubai. The fair counted over 57,000 visitors, an increase over last year’s attendance according to the fair’s operators.

The fair is considered the most important trade-ground for building projects in the Golf-Region, where remarkable and unusual projects like man-made islands, skyscrapers harbouring offices and apartments as well as gigantic hotel complexes are all the buzz. The projects are meant to help develop a functioning economic machinery of the Golf States. To this end, planers intend to build up high-class tourist and luxury living quarters.

Despite the word-wide recession, the United Arab Emirates are expecting 6% growth of the building industry according to a trade fair press release. As a point of interest, readers may note a study cited, which claims that there are presently 3,800 building projects under way with a collective value of USD 3,4 trillion. Most are situated in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the biggest of which is presumably the Silk City Project in Kuwait for USD 132 billion, followed by the Jumeirah Gardens Development in the UAE (USD 95 billion) and the King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia (USD 93 billion).

This year will see „building green“ as a main theme accompanied by a special conference and a prize dubbed Gaia. A representative of the Dubai government offices held a lecture on new rules and regulations on energy efficiency and ecologically friendly building.