Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (Saso), the government body responsible for co-ordinating standardisation activities and facilitating the development of the kingdom's standards by working with government, industry and the community, has signed up as the official partner for the upcoming The Big 5 Saudi show.

The event is being organised by dmg events from March 8 to 11 at Jeddah Centre for Forum & Events.

With a construction pipeline which includes mega-projects such as the $17-billion King Salman Park; the $2.5-billion King Salman Airbase relocation; the $5-billion smart city development Neom; the $4-billion entertainment destination Qiddiya; the $9-billion luxury tourism and leisure Red Sea project and the $800-million Kaar Gateway, the Big 5 Saudi’s partnership with Saso underscores the importance of the construction industry in the country and the highest standards of practice required to successfully complete the projects.

On the tie-up, deputy director (Efficiency Labels) Engineer Zayed M. Albagami said: "The Saso governs the organisational and executive tasks related to standards, metrology and quality, including laying down and accrediting Saudi standards of goods, products and services, measurement and calibration bodies, and procedures of conformity evaluation and certification."

"In this context, Saso is participating at The Big 5 Saudi to enhance the process of comprehensive and sustainable development in the kingdom and to strengthen cooperation and coordination with concerned government and private sectors benefitting from standardisation, quality and calibration activities as well as mutual recognition," he stated.

The Big 5 Saudi (event director) Roni El Haddad said the expo has solidified its reputation in the last ten years as the leading meeting place for the construction industry.

It will host more than 250 exhibiting brands from 20 countries including, amongst others, Turkey, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, UK, US, Egypt, UAE, India, Korea, Kuwait, Jordan, Malaysia and Hungary.

In addition, more than 50 workshops will be available across three theatres during the four-day construction showcase.

"As the importance of the construction in the country increases to meet the demands of multi-billion projects and of influx of tourists to the kingdom, so does our role as a platform to promote partnership working between the local and international industry in Saudi," noted El Haddad.

“We are delighted to partner with Saso as their partnership is an incredible endorsement of the industry and further underscores the importance of the sector in the country,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service