Photo: Heavy duty machines at the fair

Over 540 local and international enterprises specialising in the field of building and public works participated in the 6th International Building and Public Works show May18-21 at the Tripoli international fair by the Secretary of the Libyan general people's committee, Dr Baghdadi Mahmoudi.

The Secretaries of the Libyan general people's committees for industry, economy and trade, Mohamed Haweij and secretary for planning and finance Abdelhafidh Zlitni, several senior Libyan officials and the heads and members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Libya were present at the inauguration of this economic and industrial event.

In a speech Haweij said all the services of his department were working towards putting in place an ambitious programme aimed at producing raw materials the country was highly endowed with, adding that the show would help create job opportunities for young graduates through investment in small and medium-size projects.

Haweij said the event would help youngsters to be informed about the products of other companies and establish enterprises and investment companies in all fields, and pointed out that this edition represented a model for the consolidation of knowledge and technology transfer, to promote industry.

The Secretary of the Libyan general people's committee, Dr Baghdadi Mahmoudi, announced at a news briefing held alongside the international building and public works show intended for Libyan and foreign investors that Libya planned to execute several programs relative to the creation of industries of building products.

He added that in this respect the Libyan people's committee promulgated several laws concerning the development of the Libyan industry which had made building products benefit from tax-and-duty exemptions and made it possible to promote investment in the field of land.

Participants and visitors of this year's Libya Build have applauded the remarkable organization that was steered and manifested by the Fair's Organizers which made it part of its success.

The four-day exhibition which started on May 18 and ended on May 21 had recorded the participation of over five hundred and thirty companies.

The exhibition is also reported to have equally attracted a significant and a satisfactory number of professional visitors from different walks of life.

"Participants are happy as they are all making business contracts. I'm getting feedback from all the five hundred exhibitors that huge business is being made while others are getting agents for their products," said Mr. Maged Mahfoud, the Managing Director of International Exhibition Organizers.

Dr Baghdadi added that privileges were granted, namely free plots, in exchange for the building of houses and other buildings.

He recalled that Libya recently established a fund with a capital of 20 billion Libyan dinars (1.300 Libyan dinars = 1 US dollar) intended for investors in the field of land and building products, and stated that these provisions marked the beginning of the program that will soon be launched, through this fund chaired by the governor of the Central Bank of Libya.

The Libyan official said this show, which represented a prototype for information sharing and investment incentive, proved the stability of legislations in the country and constituted an instrument geared towards helping investors to develop their activities.

The massive participation of Libyans who represented the majority in this 6th show testifies to their trust in the legislations into force, in their market and in the measures and initiatives aimed at executing development projects in their country, he said.

Organised under the supervision of the Libyan General Board for Fairs, in collaboration with the Libyan Investment Development Company, this show also concerned air-conditioning, equipment and lifts. Waste water disposal and reprocessing systems, different types of doors and windows, as well as the other products used in the building sector, featured among the exhibited products.

"This indicates that the show is very successful hence makes me feel happy," he explained.

According to him, it is this exceeded number of over seventeen thousand professional visitors that has so far made this year's Libya Build Fair different from the previous ones.
However Mr. Maged was optimistic that the figures were likely to rise during the official closing hours of the exhibition.

Realizing Libya's great potential in the field of building and construction and the positive outcome that they have so far gotten from the fair, many participants have already expressed their next year's intention to participate in the similar fair.

The trend so far shows that, each day, the participation of foreign companies from countries like Turkey, Tunisia, Malta, Italy, France, Jordan, Portugal and Thailand is increasing, hence posing a great challenge to the local Libyan companies to pull up their socks and be part of the already on going building and construction projects.

So far out of the total exhibitors, one hundred and fifty five are local companies.

"This year's Libya Build is very professional and it is nothing to compare with the last show. We are also happy that we have made business with both private and public companies," said Mr. Mohamed El-Saket, Managing Director, Silyne Libya for Water Technologies and Construction.

"The fair was good but I hope it will be bigger next year," commented Mr. Suliman Issa, General Manager of Alwakaea Company for import and exports of electrical and households who was also a participant.

Libya Build was introduced into the Libyan market in 2003. Today it has turned out to be one of the largest specialised International exhibitions in the Libyan Jamahiriya.