African Construction Expo, Southern Africa’s construction and built environment multi-award winning, flagship exhibition, has unveiled its refreshed and reworked identity. The event will run as The Big 5 Construct Southern Africa from 2 February 2022.

According to the organisers, leading event company dmg events, this update is reflective of the evolution of its place in a dynamic and transforming market and geography. Whilst a name change and rebrand is significant, the core foundation and vision of the event has not changed and the team are committed to ensuring that they provide a platform that not only unites the Southern African construction sector but demonstrates cutting-edge innovation, and provides a stage for knowledge and business opportunities for industry stakeholders.

After two years of having to host the event digitally, the 2022 edition will be in person from 7 – 9 June 2022 at its usual home, the Gallagher Convention Centre.

An impressive panel of public and private sector stakeholders have confirmed institutional support, including the City of Johannesburg.  Matshidiso Mlaba, Deputy Director of Marketing noted, “This is good news for the city and we welcome countries from around the world to join us at the expo. The expo is highly needed to uplift the City of Johannesburg’s economy. We look forward to seeing Southern Africa’s construction industry at the live exhibition.”

Timing of the event could not be better. A key component of South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November 2021 is underpinned by ‘aggressive infrastructure investment’, with a strong emphasis on localisation, job creation and streamlining of the regulatory framework.

According to Devi Paulsen, Vice President of dmg events, “With a healthy pipeline of infrastructure projects on the cards in both Southern and South Africa, indicators point to a healthy rebound for one of the worst hit sectors by the pandemic. The decisions by governments to develop and invest in infrastructure provides a wealth of opportunities for established players and new market entrants.”

“Our decision to rebrand to The Big 5 Construct Southern Africa allows the Southern African edition of this series to successfully align to the strengths of an iconic portfolio of global events, hosted in Dubai, Egypt, Saudi, Nigeria and Kenya, which has been running for over 42 years and collectively welcomes over 100,000 participants annually.”

With hundreds of global suppliers exhibiting their products and services, a number of thought-leadership conferences, hours of networking, business matchmaking programmes and free-to-attend workshops and talks, The Big 5 Construct Southern Africa 2022 will play host to thousands of attendees from over 40 countries.

“For eight years we have been committed to facilitating buyer/seller face-to-face connections and showcasing the most innovative solutions for the region,” says Tracy-Lee Behr, dmg events Construction Portfolio Director. “We believe in accelerating progress in the construction industry to support economic growth and to promote a healthier and more sustainable built environment across Southern Africa,” she added.