GCC and Yemen Building Materials Manufacturers Forum
05 April 2014
GCC and Yemen Building Materials Manufacturers Forum to be held mid-April in Doha along with a consultative meeting for contractors
GOIC: the objective of this forum is the advancement of this vital sector.
The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) announced that the “1st GCC and Yemen Building Materials Manufacturers Forum” will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Doha on the 15th and 16th of April, 2014. The Forum will be held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatari minister of economy and commerce.
GOIC announced these details during a press conference attended by GOIC Secretary General Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel, Mr. Mohammed Bin Khamis Al-Mukhaini, Assistant Secretary General for Industrial Information and Studies and Mr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Ansari, CEO of Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC), the Forum’s strategic partner.
Mr. Al-Ageel stated: “The manufacturing of building materials plays a vital role in supporting the building and construction sector which is one of the main pillars of industrial and economic development in GCC countries and Yemen. Therefore, it is considered among the most promising industries in these countries.”
“GCC countries are among the highest consumers of building materials in the world. Since 2005, GCC spent nearly 570 billion USD on building and construction projects, while the value of construction projects in years to come is expected to exceed 1.045 trillion USD. Thus, the huge increase of demand of building materials resulted in the creation of several manufacturing industries which have helped diversifying income sources and creating additional job opportunities for locals”, said Al-Ageel.
GOIC Secretary General added: “GOIC databases highlight the diversity of industries in the building materials sector and the high increase of the need for labour force. In 2013, 6070 GCC building materials companies invested approximately 45.8 billion USD and employed about 443000 workers in the areas of cement, sand, gypsum, stone, glass and fibre glass used in building materials and plastic materials used for piping and insulation and metallurgical industries such as steel and aluminium used to manufacture construction materials.
Al-Ageel explained: “Despite the surge in the number of building materials manufacturing facilities in GCC countries, they still import most of their needs. Therefore, GOIC has decided to organise the “1st GCC and Yemen Building Materials Manufacturers Forum” to discuss economic and environmental opportunities for the building materials industry and shed light on important local investment opportunities to expand and develop this sector. In this regard, GOIC has signed an agreement with the International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC) to organise this forum and discuss the current status of building materials manufacturing, challenges that manufacturers are facing and investment opportunities, particularly in the cement, steel, aluminium, ceramics, plastics and paints industries.”
Furthermore, Al-Ageel mentioned that a consultative meeting organised by the Federation of GCC Chambers (FGCCC) will be held on the sidelines of the Forum in order to discuss a series of valuable GCC projects in the construction sector such as the Qatar-Bahrain Bridge, Doha 2022 World Cup, GCC railways, registration in Saudi Aramco projects, the GCC contractors guidebook and the launch of the GCC construction sector website within the GCC economic web portal.”
The Forum will focus on the most important topics in the building materials manufacturing sector such as unifying the criteria and standards of building materials in GCC countries and manufacturing sustainable building materials. Moreover, an exhibition will be held along with this forum to display the latest techniques and technologies in the building materials manufacturing sector.
GOIC Secretary General concluded: “We hope that this Forum will contribute to the advancement of the building materials manufacturing sector and all relevant projects and help in boosting relationships between GCC countries and Yemen to achieve the desired integration for the best of our countries.”
In addition, Mr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Ansari stated: “This Forum about building materials is the first of its kind; it is an important topic since building materials form the biggest share of Gulf countries’ budgets. Furthermore, the Forum will tackle a vital issue: GCC building sector criteria and standards. In this context, QIMC, the strategic partner, has 17 projects including 9 in the area of building materials. We are confident that our company will benefit from this Forum and we believe in the importance of such a conference considering the numerous projects in the region.”
Al-Ansari added: “The Forum will focus on sustainable building materials, issues related to existing industries and problems they are facing, especially when it comes to supply being higher than demand.” Al-Ansari concluded with a wish to establish a federation of building material manufacturers, similarly to other specialised federations and unions.
Forum sessions and topics
Mr. Mohhammed Bin Khamis Al-Mukhaini, GOIC Assitant Secretary General talked about the different topics and speakers of the Forum. He explained that the Forum will discuss various topics related to the current and future eco-friendly building materials manufacturing in GCC and Yemen, future opportunities in these countries taking into consideration the current demand and the future need of sustainable building materials. The Forum is to tackle manufacturing opportunities with the least impact on the environment without increasing the cost of construction, new strategies for the sustainable use of building materials and standards and criteria.
The list of main speakers include: “His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani, minister of economy and commerce and patron of this Forum, Mr. Abdulrahim Hasan Naqi, FGCCC Secretary General and Mr. Abdul-Rahman Abdulla Al-Ansari, QIMC CEO.
In conclusion, Al-Mukhaini mentioned that GOIC will present a number of promising investment opportunities in the building materials manufacturing sector for GCC countries such as: EPS production for insulation boards, decoration, the production of interlocking plastics pipes, manufacturing of melamine panels used for construction, and ammonium and steel products used in building materials.
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