you hit the nail on the head—Big 5 is the “must-win battleground” for building materials in the Middle East and Africa, and mainland-Chinese plus Hong Kong companies have long treated it as their premier beach-head. Below is the latest intel, distilled so you can land running when you “enter the field.”
1. Show positioning
- Tag-line: “Middle East & Africa’s largest building & construction show.”– 110 000 m², 3 000+ exhibitors, 65 000+ trade visitors from 160 countries; 60% are from the Gulf, North & East Africa and the Indian sub-continent.
- The UAE itself imports ~60% of its building materials (US $6 bn a year) and has a US $1.2 trn project pipeline—residential, hospitality, renewables, airports, metro—earning the show its industry nickname: “direct on-ramp to a trillion-dollar market.”
2. 2026 edition (already announced)
Dates: 23–26 November 2026
Venue: Dubai World Trade Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road
Booths usually sell out 10 months ahead; right now is the sweet spot for reserving space, securing product certification and pre-clearing customs.
3. China / Hong Kong contingent
- Last edition (2025): ±3 000 total exhibitors; mainland China + Hong Kong supplied c. 1 000—by far the largest overseas bloc.
- Official China pavilion sprawls across Za’abeel 1/2, Armani, Rashid and Maktoum halls—covering the whole chain: hardware, aluminium, WPC, wire mesh, window & door hardware, smart locks, flooring, coatings.
- >90% of Chinese exhibitors rated visitor quality “above expectations” and re-booked on the spot.
4. indicative booth cost (2025 rates—budget here for 2026)
- Standard 9 m² (single open side): US $8 055 + registration/insurance US $1 350 + 5% VAT ≈ US $9 875 (≈ RMB 73 000).
- Raw space: US $765 / m² (min. 27 m²); corner surcharges: +10% two sides, +15% three sides.
- Package staff trip: RMB 24 800 pp (return air, hotel, transfers, visa, VAT).
DMG rule: “first-paid = first-pick”—prime row ends are gone before September.
5. Turning “super-connector” status into hard cash
- Lock in product + brand certification for GCC three months out (G-Mark / SASO / DCL). On-site you can brandish “ex-stock, 7-day delivery” and kill the long lead-times of European/US rivals.
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