Business & Finance Club Magazine - Real Estate Sector - Oman (Muscat) - Omanexpo, the leading organiser of professional trade shows in the sultanate, is gearing up for The BIG Show, a high-profile international exhibition for the region's building and construction sector , an industry that is currently involved in billions of dollars worth of major development projects.

Formerly known as Interiors & Buildex, The BIG Show - or the Builders International Gathering - will be held on March 21st-23rd, 2011 at the Oman International Exhibitions Centre in A'Seeb. The three-day event, which is much-awaited every year by industry professionals, is once again expected to attract the participation of a record number of local and international exhibitors aims to take full advantage of existing major opportunities in the market.

During the Press Conference held at Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), Khalil bin Abdullah al Khunji, Chairman of (OCCI)  said that  the BIG Show in March 2011 aims  to  support the building, construction and real estate sectors being one of the  promising sectors in the Sultanate  and represents the future infrastructure due to improvement in economic situations and global oil prices.

"Just like with Interiors & Buildex before, The BIG Show will serve as a major platform for meeting the rapidly growing requirements of the industry with the continued implementation of major residential, commercial and industrial projects throughout the region. We are rebranding the show this year in light of the event's firmly established reputation as one of the biggest and most important exhibitions in the Middle East for the building and construction industry," said Nasser Diab, general manager of Omanexpo, the pioneer exhibition management company in the Sultanate.

Diab pointed out that The BIG Show will prominently feature all types of building materials, construction equipment and interior furnishings, many of which will be brought in by foreign companies and introduced for the first time in the local and regional market. The wide range of products to be displayed will include air-conditioning systems, doors and windows, cement and concrete products, bathroom fittings, ceramic wall and floor tiles, paint products, heavy equipment, kitchen modules and appliances, marble and stone products, and hundreds of other products for any type of construction activity, renovation work or interior design project.

According to Diab, a new and exciting feature of The BIG Show will be the Construction Equipment Demonstration Zone, which will provide a platform for suppliers, manufacturers and distributors to showcase how their heavy equipment works. To be held for the first time ever in the Middle East, this special zone to be set up at the back of the exhibition centre will enable users to familiarize themselves with the advanced features and amazing capabilities of the different brands of heavy equipment in the market.

Diab stressed that, with its distinction of being a "UFI Approved Event," The BIG Show offers an assurance to exhibitors and visitors alike that it is a high quality and professionally managed event. Now on its 8th edition, the international exhibition is expected to maintain its consistent growth over the years in terms of total number of participating companies, countries represented, total exhibition space covered, as well as number of trade visitors.

The previous edition of the event, which was held last March 15-17, set many new records including the participation of 202 local and international companies whose displays covered both halls of the Oman International Exhibition Centre. For the very first time, more than 25 countries were also represented in the 2010 exhibition, spearheaded by the national pavilions of Turkey, UK, UAE, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Italy. The other international participants came all the way from Canada, China, Germany, India, Iran, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Malta, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the USA.

The BIG Show 2011 is held under the patronage of the Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OCCI), Agility is the official logistics partner, and it is also supported by Panorama Windows Co. LLC as the gold sponsor.