The significant growth in visitors attending the 35th Middle East Electricity (MEE) exhibition, which finished its annual three day run at Dubai International Exhibition Centre last week, saw Dubai further strengthening its strategic importance to the regional and international energy, water and lighting industries.
“Over the three days, attendance figures totalled 49,293 - a year on year increase of 12.4%,” said Anita Mathews, Exhibition Director, IIR Middle East, the organisers of the event. “This reinforces not only the financial buoyancy of the energy, water and lighting sectors across the region but also Dubai’s position as a vital conduit for the region’s trade professionals to source innovative products and solutions.”
Acknowledged by exhibitors and visitors as the world’s leading event of its kind, MEE2010 featured 1,000 exhibitors from 59 countries, with strong representation from the world’s leading countries in the energy sector, including China, Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the UK.
“One of the reasons for the event’s success is that it delivers a totally comprehensive showcase of products and services from every aspect of the energy, water and lighting industries,” added Mathews. “But most importantly, it attracts serious professional visitors who specifically come to source products and services - exhibitors recognise MEE as a proven sales generator, and this has seen the show deliver sustained growth over the last 35 years.”
Clear evidence of this is the fact that MEE 2010 set a new benchmark in terms of satisfaction with the event, an unprecedented 100% of exhibitors stating that they achieved their overall objectives by participating at the exhibition.
Ducab (Dubai Cable Company) actively participates in MEE every year, and Ashish Chaturvedy, Ducab’s Marketing Manager says that “MEE provides a great opportunity for us to interact with existing and potential contractors, developers and consultants from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia whilst allowing us to showcase our complete range of copper
products, cables and cable accessories. This year’s event served as an excellent platform for the launch of our new Ducab “Connect’ range of cable accessories and was also the ideal place to renew relationships with supply chain partners.”
Further proof of the financial commitment of governments throughout the region to energy and water projects came this week in the form of the announcement that two Japanese companies (Toyobo Co., Ltd. and Itochu Corporation) and ACWA Holding, a local Saudi company are to form a joint venture to develop water desalination projects in Saudi Arabia, which will see regional manufacturing of reverse osmosis membrane elements for seawater desalination. The new company, to be located in Rabigh Technical Park, 150 kms north of Jeddah on the Red Sea, will be the first manufacturing facility of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, and total investment over the next decade will be in excess of US$350 million.
“Given the immediate need to supply rapidly growing amounts of both electricity and water, industry experts see continued growth in investment throughout the region for the long-term,” concluded Mathews. “Our objective is to continue to develop MEE to enhance its position as the definitive platform for the energy industry, as the relationships built at the event play a significant role in shaping the regional energy sector.”