Business & Money | Saturday 10 January, 2015 12:22 pm |

H.E. Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammad Bel Haif Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Public Works, revealed today (Saturday, 10 January 2015) during the inauguration of ArabPlast 2015 exhibition, that the Ministry has firms plans for infrastructure developments across the country, including road networks and federal buildings.

H.E. Dr. Al Nuaimi added that the ministry's expenditure would be around AED 6 billion between 2013 and 2016, of which AED 3 billion worth of projects are underway, and consultants and contractors have been appointed.

After inaugurating ArabPlast 2014, which is the region’s biggest trade show in petrochemicals and plastics spread over 9 halls in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, H.E. Dr. Al Nuaimi said the participation of exhibitors from more than 45 countries reflects the high standing of the show. H.E. said that plastics are largely used in construction projects as an alternative for metals, mainly in the manufacturing of tubes and pipes. He said that the ministry attaches major importance to sustainability in all its projects.

ArabPlast 2015, the region’s biggest petrochemical exhibition and one of the largest in the world, was inaugurated today (Saturday, 10 January 2015) by H.E. Dr. Al Nuaimi in presence of senior officials from Al Fajer Information and Services and Messe Dusseldorf, joint organisers of the show.

“The GCC is a leading player in the commodity polymers space due to availability of relatively cheap reserves of gas, and hence cheaper feedstock, making the region one of the most cost-effective suppliers of polymers,” said Satish Khanna, General Manager, Al Fajer Information and Services, Co-organiser of the show along with Germany’s Messe Dusseldorf.

The fact that many global companies are setting up major alliances in the region, as part of plans to add more than 15 million MT of capacity across various petrochemicals until 2017, has given a strong boost to ArabPlast 2015.

Jeen Joshua, Group Project Manager of ArabPlast 2015, added: “ArabPlast 2015 has registered the strongest participation ever, bringing together 1100 companies from 45 countries, and 18 national pavilions. This shows 31% growth in the number of exhibitors compared to the previous edition.”

Khanna added: “We have been witnessing average 25 to 35 per cent increase in number of exhibitors in every recent edition of ArabPlast. This is huge growth, making ArabPlast one of the biggest events of its kind globally.”

The steady growth of ArabPlast has encouraged local and regional companies to extend support. Borouge, the leading UAE company, is sponsoring the international show for the first time as Principle Sponsor. TASNEE is a Diamond Sponsor, NATPET is a Gold Sponsor, Frost & Sullivan is the Knowledge Partner, Emirates is the Official Airlines and Mep is a Silver Media Sponsor.

The UAE petrochemicals production almost doubled in 2013, reaching 10 million tons per annum, valued at AED 18 billion accounting roughly for 7% of the total GCC production capacity, according to Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association.

Saudi Arabia maintained its leading position as the region's largest petrochemical producer, contributing 64.3% of the total regional capacity (91.8 million tons per annum) in 2013.

Plastics currently account for 17.3% of the GCC’s total petrochemical capacity. ArabPlast 2015 will showcase new products and technologies in injection molding, blow molding, wrapping and packaging, pre and post plastic processing techniques as well as raw materials, such as additives and polymers.

ArabPlast 2015, a biennial event, is considered the largest trade show in Dubai when it comes to the size of machinery on display. The exhibition sees arrival of industrial machinery in over 150 containers, for direct selling on the exhibition floor.