Supported by the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, the Big 5 Construct Egypt took place to provide a safe platform, where the community can reconnect, revitalize business activities, and rebuild partnerships, all by meeting face-to-face from June 26 to 29 at the Cairo International Convention Center (CICC), Invest-Gate reports.

The third edition of The Big 5 Construct Egypt was inaugurated by Assem El Gazzar, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities. Over the three-day conference, 55 speakers were welcomed including an exclusive line-up of ministers from Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa to explore the sector’s future contribution toward economic growth and diversification in Egypt.

At the launch ceremony, H.E. Minister, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo in Nigeria praised the organizers, dmg events, commenting, “Let me start by expressing my appreciation to The Big 5 Leadership Conference organizers, as well as the various sponsors, for creating this platform to discuss pertinent issues regarding how the African continent can be transformed through creating strategic alliances. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated innovative approaches by countries across the globe and the timing of this conference is vital given its occurrence.”

Moreover, the minister stresses the need to foster intra-African trade and investments among member nations in the African Union, saying, ‘’There is a need to reactivate the Nigeria – Egypt joint Commission to resolve lingering bilateral issues and trade backlogs,” concluding, ‘’The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is committed to working with the designated Egyptian Ministry in this regard.”

H. E. Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure of South Africa Patricia de Lille remarks, “It’s a great pleasure and honor for me to be here this morning. I briefly want to put emphasis on the Africa free trade agreement.” “We need all the nations of Africa to work together more closely to achieve and advance the goals of the African Union 2063 plan.  It signals that the African countries are ready to work together towards shared values, shared benefits, and shared prosperity. The Africa free trade agreement could be the world’s biggest fully realized free trade zone by end of the year,” she concludes.

On his part, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Yehia Zaki expresses his appreciation for participating in The Big 5 Leadership Conference. He generally stresses the importance of connectivity within the African continent, which is reflected in the development of the economic zone, highlighting, “The vision for the economic zone is to become a leading world-class economic hub and the preferred solution for investment, this is the vision for 2030 and beyond.”

Vice President at dmg events Muhammed Kazi expresses his excitement over the event, “We are extremely proud to be back in Cairo to support the expanding requirements of Egypt’s resilient construction and infrastructure sectors, serving Egypt’s strategic development objectives and its Vision 2030. We are delighted to offer valuable opportunities in a safe way for professionals in the field to grow and prosper within this landscape through trading, networking, and knowledge-sharing experiences.”

The Big 5 Egypt Impact Awards Ceremony recognized industry success in the sector across 19 categories, shining a light on Egypt’s most outstanding construction and infrastructure projects, leaders and young construction professionals, and feats of inclusion and diversity.

The Big 5 Construct Egypt gathered more than 180 leading construction brands from more than 18 countries, including Canada, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Russia, Italy, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and more. Heavyweights include Hassan Allam Holding, Orascom Construction, El Soadaa, ASGC, Hanimex, Al Zamil, Al Ahram, Wellbond, Al Amal Elsherif for Plastics, and more.

The event included more than 200 manufacturers and distributors of construction products. Additionally, over the three days, visiting professionals had the chance to benefit from 35 free-to-attend CPD certified talks across critical themes like BIM, sustainability, and project management. These industry talks presented a unique opportunity to stay up to date on trends in the sector.

The exhibition was free to attend, and was supported by Hassan Allam Holding as a strategic partner, the platinum partner- Orascom Construction, the construction partner- The Arab Contractors, the banking partner- Banque du Caire, as well as the gold sponsors- ABB, CRC Dorra, and Samcrete. The silver sponsor was Keller, the stone sponsor- Gremic, the supporting association- The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the research partner – ABiQ, and the VIP lounge partner – Hanimex.