CONFINDUSTRIA MARMOMACCHINE and ICE Agency – in the context of 2023 promotional work for the sector – will organize a collective exhibit of Italian stone industry companies at the STONE & SURFACE SAUDI ARABIA show to be held in Riyadh from February 18 to 21, 2023.
STONE & SURFACE SAUDI ARABIA is a special showcase devoted to the natural stone sector, its technologies and surfaces design within THE BIG 5 SAUDI, the main tradeshow on the Saudi market for the construction world and a venue at which to meet thousands of local operators and government stakeholders involved in the decision-making processes for the region’s huge development plans.
Historically the Middle East’s biggest economy, Saudi Arabia recently introduced a series of measures intended to remodel the country’s economic structure, traditionally driven by crude oil and fossil fuel production. Among the most significant measures are limited deregulation, stimulation of foreign investments and the privatization of some economic sectors. All under the name of SAUDI VISION 2030, an authentic timetable for developing various industrial sectors different from hydrocarbons that should lead to broad-reaching business and social changes.
Among the sectors to undergo reform a central role is played by housing, which receives the largest share of government spending under the National Transformation Plan (NTP) that is part of implementing SAUDI VISION 2030 and involves 24 Saudi government boards. Big investments that could have great potential also for the use of authentically natural stone, one of the materials of choice in the Arab world and in the Gulf.
It should be emphasized that in the first half of 2022 Saudi Arabia was the fifth-ranking buyer in value terms of Italian finished stone products, with purchases worth more than 33 million euros and an increase of 51% from the same period in 2021. A figure that in the medium term could rise significantly, also considering that one of the aims of SAUDI VISION 2030 is decisive growth in the private sector and, as we said, attracting larger and larger foreign investments.