Exhibitors from among the 508 regional and international companies taking part in Cityscape Dubai 2006, the world’s largest and most important international business-to-business property investment and development event, say they’ve been amazed by the scale of the show and the business opportunities it has presented to prominent investors, lenders, owners, developers, architects and consultants from around the world.
Inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of The Executive Council of Dubai, Cityscape Dubai 2006 broke records even before it began, with major exhibitors announcing an unprecedented US$160 billion worth of real estate projects in the run-up to the event – a seven-fold increase on the US$20 billion announced before previous Cityscape 2005.
By the end of the three-day event on December 6th, a record-breaking 37,000 participants from 91 countries had passed through the doors at Dubai International Exhibition Centre (DIEC) into the exhibition area which at 55,000 square metres was 130 per cent larger than the previous year.
Amongst the VIP visitors and to mention just a few were His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and his wife, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, who paid a surprise visit on the final afternoon; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who visited on the second evening; and from America, Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka and Eric Trump from the Trump Organization.
One distinguishing feature of this year’s event was the participation of increasing numbers of international companies.
“Cityscape Dubai 2006 has been successful in attracting participants from a number of cities and development authorities from around the world. As well as sourcing investment and development opportunities in the Middle East, they were also seeking foreign direct investment into their own regions,” said Rohan Marwaha, Group Director, Cityscape.
Among these was a trade mission from Victoria, Australia. Graham Jones, an award-winning Melbourne-based architect who travelled to Cityscape with the Australian contingent, said they were ‘amazed’ by the number and quality of contacts generated during the event.
“We’ve participated in 36 trade shows in Australia over the past 18 years and this is by far the best show we’ve ever been to. It’s an amazing exhibition,” said Jones, a winner of 50 design awards in Australia in the past nine years.
Business leads generated during Cityscape Dubai 2006 included a low cost housing project in Abu Dhabi; a private residence in Sri Lanka, which would be based on a boutique resort Jones designed in Bali; and a shopping mall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“I’ve been in the business long enough to know who’s talking the talk and who’s walking the walk and Cityscape has generated serious quality leads,” said Jones. “It just goes to show what you can achieve out of just six square metres of stand space. Next year, we’ll be back with a bigger stand, and we’ll also be at Cityscape Abu Dhabi in May.
One of the most talked-about European exhibitors at Cityscape Dubai 2006 was HafenCity Hamburg, a 155-hectare inner city regeneration project that’s taking shape in the German port city. The CEO of the public company behind the project, Jurgen Bruns-Berentelg, was one of the 75 acclaimed international speakers at the Cityscape Conference.
“This is the second year we’ve participated at Cityscape Dubai and the growth in the exhibition from last year is very impressive. Definitely it has grown, both in terms of the overall quality and the number of people attending. We have nothing that is growing at a comparable rate in Europe,” said Bruns-Berentelg.
HafenCity Hamburg was looking for investors in specific market segments such as hotels and healthcare. With regular flights by Dubai-based Emirates airline to Hamburg, HafenCity is seeking to explore opportunities in the hotel and medical services industries, for which Hamburg already enjoys a sound reputation in the Middle East.
Bruns-Berentelg added that Cityscape Dubai is HafenCity Hamburg’s main platform in the Middle East, from which it seeks to develop business relationships in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, among other key cities.
Asia was well represented at Cityscape Dubai 2006, with exhibitors from India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Rusiah Mohamed, Senior Manager with MATRADE, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, said, “We’re here with six companies this year – two property developers from Malacca and Sabah who are seeking investors, and four architectural firms.
“Cityscape is a sound platform to promote the professional services available in Malaysia to the international business community. We’re here to raise awareness of the services we can export, but at the same time we’re exposing the Malaysian participants to the real world, to the rapidly changing environment here and the vast opportunities. Five of the participants are at Cityscape for the first time and it gives them a chance to network and establish contacts.”
