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Tripoli, 13 May 2013:
Preparations for the largest ever Libya Build exhibition have been underway for months and, with the exhibition due to open on Sunday, the final countdown has now begun.
This year’s Libya Build will stretch across an extraordinary 30,000 square metres, with a third of the space dedicated to an outdoor area for heavy plant and machinery. The remaining two thirds of the site is being taken up by individual stands inside an enormous tent.
The success of last year’s exhibition showed that it had clearly outgrown the usual Tripoli trade fair venues. “Even though we told them no contracts were being given out at that time, it was a record,” Managing Director of ATEX International Exhibition Organisers, Maged Mahfoud, told the Libya Herald, “It was very successful and exhibitors and companies demanded more space.”
ATEX, which organises Libya Build, used Google Earth to search for a big enough location to accommodate the proposed larger fair. The internet map revealed the car park at Sports City in the Gurji area of Tripoli as the ideal potential location.
“We had a construction company come in to remove the car park features, such as lights and paved areas,” he said, before the real preparations of erecting an enormous tent to house the 20,000 square metre indoor area.
Despite the recent security concerns, there have been no cancellations, and there are still 17 companies on a waiting list for any space that may become available.
“Libya Build is purely a business event,” Mahfoud said: “There will be many SMEs, as well as big firms and the Ministry of Housing,” Mahfoud said, “We are also dealing with international government organisations, including UK Trade and Investment and UbiFrance.”
This year’s Libya Build will host 702 companies from 27 countries. Local firms will be well-represented at the exhibition, with 35 percent of stands taken up by 244 local businesses and the remaining 458 companies being international. There will be 15 national pavilions, of which Italy’s will be the largest, housing 105 companies.
Libya Build will run from 19 to 23 May. [/restrict]
