Intermat Middle East opens its doors yesterday as H E Engineer Ahmad Mohammed Shareef, undersecretary of the Department of Municipal Affairs, Abu Dhabi, officially got the show underway.
According to an interview conducted by BuildGreen with sustainability expert Richard Smith, Carbon Critical buildings technical director for Atkins in the Middle East and India, failing to comply with current and incoming regulations could cost up to 30% or more of GDP per year, leading to economic failure.
With increasing fines and financial penalties being placed onto construction companies and municipalities such as Abu Dhabi initiating a series of green initiatives over the last few years, the event has understandably attracted support from a lot of companies looking to push recycling and waste management products and services.
Christopher Hudson, Managing Director, Clarion Events Middle East, said: “The Middle East is investing a significant amount of capital into the green building industry in recognition of future perils. Intermat provides an arena for developers and prominent personalities in the construction and infrastructure sectors to assemble with important construction companies and achieve exceptional levels of sustainability in the region.”
“Hyundai’s efforts to offer quality, environmentally friendly and durable products at economical prices, is most relevant when the construction industry is facing a tough time,” said SB Yun, Middle East Regional Manager, Hyundai Heavy Industries. “We believe that this show will provide a good opportunity to reach this message to our customers”.
Patrick Mansuy, CEO of ARCURE, a specialist in video pedestrian detection technology and the developer of the recently unveiled BLAXTAIR safety system, said: “GCC countries and, generally speaking, the Middle East region are carrying out huge building works, involving thousands of heavy machines and hundreds of thousands of workers working around.
“These projects are often amazing and are much admired worldwide. We are convinced that BLAXTAIR, by helping to save lives, could bring benefits to workers, to the building companies and finally to the global ecosystem. In this context, Intermat Middle East is the place to be to present this extraordinary new device to all. It gives us the unique opportunity to meet, in a short period of time, all the stakeholders taking part in the fabulous development of the building industry in the Middle East.’’
