The annual Saudi Building & Interiors exhibition, being held under the auspices of Prince Mishaal Bin Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Jeddah, will open its doors today evening.

The event, being held in conjunction with Machinery Showcase, will run daily from 5pm to 10pm at the Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events till April 25.

More than 150 exhibitors from countries like China & Turkey, who have their dedicated pavilions, as well as from Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, Spain and UAE are taking part in the show to unveil their most advanced products and services.

There is an increased focus this time on value engineering and Green buildings, said the event organisers Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions (ACE).

Being hosted at a time when the Kingdom is witnessing a continuing boom of construction, thanks to its strong and buoyant economy, the event will be marked by an engineering symposium with some of the best known experts in the field as speakers and presenters.

The symposium is being organised by the Engineering & Construction Interest Group of Saudi Quality Council-Western Region in collaboration with ACE.

Leading experts including Waleed Attar of Geology & Mining, Dr. Hafidh Al-Samorraei of IEE, Dr. Faisal Al Shareef and A. Al Ghamdi- sustainability and green building engineering, Saleh Al Asheash and Abdullah Khojah, both of CVS VE Chapter, will discuss a number of issues related to building materials and sustainability, intelligent and friendly buildings, cost management, and value engineering and green buildings.

"The exhibition has assumed tremendous importance and interest among local and overseas exhibitors as well as manufacturers, agents, importers and dealers of materials for construction and interiors as well as  machinery related to the industry in the region," remarked Zahoor Siddique, the vice president Exhibitions at ACE.

Saudi Arabia's 650 billion 9th development Plan - which has triggered the ongoing construction activity all over the Kingdom, including the construction of world's tallest tower that is underway in Jeddah, the execution of new economic cities - has created a lot of interest among the local and foreign manufacturers and investors, he added.-TradeArabia News Service