Build Expo 2007 in Jan

With huge investments made in the textile industry, infrastructure, housing, etc, the construction industry in Coimbatore is poised to sustain its current boom and its annual growth rate is expected to exceed 12 per cent this year.

In a press statement issued here as a curtain raiser for 'Build Expo 2007', the third edition of the bi-annual construction fair, D Balasundaram, chairman of the event, said that the region's textile industry alone was seeing fresh investment to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore. IT majors like CTS, Wipro and Robert Bosch India also have chosen Coimbatore to set up their development centres.

"All this has put the construction industry in this region into a new growth trajectory. It is in this scenario of great opportunities and challenges that 'Build Expo 2007' is being organised," he added.

The expo, which is being jointly organised by the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India), Builders' Association of India (BAI) and the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) will be organised from January 25 to 29, 2007 at the Codissia Trade Fair Complex. It is expected to generate business enquiries worth Rs 80-100 crore as against Rs 50 crore during the second edition of the fair concluded in 2005.

Some of the focus areas of the expo are bringing in quality products and providing interface for business association between national and global players, providing knowledge sharing programme with focus on disaster resistance structures and technologies and bringing in government organisations that have a big stake in the construction sector.

The Building Material and Trade Promotion Council and the Ministry of Urban Development have voiced their support to the expo and the organisers are also negotiating with the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) for its support. Countries like Germany, Canada, Thailand, Malaysia and Korea have shown interest in the fair, according to the release.

The pre-launch promo and road shows regarding the expo have already been done in cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai and more than 300 stalls are expected to come up at the fair, the release added.