Taking place in early September instead of late spring, the Project Lebanon construction fair run with considerable delay this year, marking the event a victim of the turbulences that rocked the Lebanese exhibition and fairs industry in the aftermath of the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
In its 11th year, the show appeared slightly smaller than in some previous editions and presence of exhibitors from some countries was down, but other countries were well represented and entries for some 250 exhibitors filled the show catalogue of organizers IFP in a respectable mix, confirming Project Lebanon as stable fixture on the country’s exhibition scene.
Looking out over Beirut from the exhibition grounds, visitors could take heart in seeing construction cranes dotting the downtown silhouette in quite some larger numbers than a few years ago, supporting the notion that the Lebanese real estate market has been more resilient in withstanding the troubles of 2005 than other sectors of the economy.
That did not mean, however, that moods inside the exhibition halls would vibrate. Attendees were treated to some information important to the sector, such as a seminar by insurers Arope on new insurance requirements for construction projects and international examples for such decennial insurance. But a sizeable number of exhibitors on the main floor of Project Lebanon admitted that 2005 had turned out different than hoped for.
Even stalwarts in the domestic construction supplies industry such as paint manufacturers Tinol and tile makers Uniceramic conceded that the market has not been kind until now. “We had a difficult first portion of 1005. The market is going up now but I am not sure if we will be able to make up for losses from the first half in the remainder of the year,” said Chaker Saab, Tinol’s business development manager. Uniceramic on their part had been hurt by the trade problems with Syria, which is the company’s main export market, said general manager, Nabil Ghorra.
Both managers saw better times ahead, albeit under slightly different accents. “I am optimistic for the future,” said Saab. “The boom will come, but I am not sure how long we can wait,” said Ghorra.
