Friday 03 / May / 2024
Muscat: Driven by Oman’s vibrant construction market, IFP Emirates (International Fairs and Promotions) has partnered up with Al Nimr Expo to organise an international construction exhibition at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The two companies announced the launch of Project Oman, the international construction, technology, infrastructure, and building materials exhibition. The speakers at the press conference were Mohsin Al Balushi, Advisor to the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Salim Al Hashmi, Chairman of Al Nimr Expo, and George Ayache, Vice President Gulf of the IFP Group.
Project Oman is the latest addition to IFP’s ‘project series’, comprising premier construction exhibitions across the Middle East and Africa. The trade fair underlines investment opportunities in Oman and optimises international trade relations and business partnerships. Project Oman will be held from October 12-14, 2020, at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“In Project Oman, we will be able to work with 30 years of experience that we have so far had with other such exhibitions,” explained Ayache. “We started with Project Saudi Arabia, and then expanded into Project Lebanon and Project Iraq. Our latest exhibition, prior to our expansion into Oman, was Project Qatar. Oman is our latest market, and this to us is like a new-born, and as you know, a new-born has to be treated a little bit differently and with care.
He added, “So for example, when construction companies want to invest in Oman, and they want to be put in touch with, say, suppliers of wood from Malaysia, or furniture makers from Turkey, then normally, it might take them years to establish contact, but here they can meet under one roof and set up connections that will help both of them.”
The exhibition offers local and international industry stakeholders a gateway into multi-billion dollar investment opportunities and puts them in direct contact with key Omani decision makers from the public and private sectors to stimulate future partnerships. The Sultanate of Oman is one of the fastest-growing countries in terms of infrastructure development, buoyed by the government’s 2040 vision which identifies the construction sector as one of the key pillars to diversifying the economy.
Oman’s construction market is expected to remain robust in the coming years as the government continues funnelling investments into construction. Currently, there are projects worth $327.63 billion in Oman, with numerous mega projects in the pipeline.
Moreover, analysts forecast a six per cent CAGR in this industry between 2019 and 2024.
“One of the main reasons we chose the Omani market is because it is geared towards Omanis, so it is set up with the local population in mind,” added Ayache. “If exhibitions like this do not affect Omani citizens positively, then we would’ve failed. Oman is among the most stable markets in the GCC, and there is huge potential in the construction and real-estate market here.”
“Exhibitions like this aim to meet the needs and concerns of many involved in the construction sector in the market, including building materials, contractors, architects, and meets many issues, including job creation, training and developing trends such as technology and sustainable building design,” he went on to say.
Adding to this, Qais Al Yousef, the OCCI chairman, said, “OCCI will act as an enabler. We will help link various companies to government and other public and private organisations. If, for example, a company wants to connect with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, or wants to meet people from a university to train students and hire people for their companies in Oman, we can put them in touch.”
