The Big 5 Construct Egypt has concluded today having successfully provided a safe platform for the construction community to reconnect, revitalize business activities, and rebuild partnerships.

The third edition was opened by Dr. Assem El-Gazzar, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, and enjoyed the support of the Ministry of Housing, Utilities & Urban Communities, Egypt.

From 26th to 29th June, The Big 5 Construct Egypt hosted over 180 construction brands from more than 18 countries, ran over 35 free-to-attend educational workshops, and introduced strategic features The Big 5 Egypt Leadership Conference and The Big 5 Egypt Impact Awards.

At the conference, Mohamed El Dahshoury, Chief Executive Officer, Hassan Allam Construction revealed that “Hassan Allam, Arab Contractors, and Orascom are all participating and responding very fast to the country’s plans; we are very busy in studying many opportunities together and that helps us to utilise our capabilities and our resources, this is life changing for the sector and I can say motivation for all of us is very high.”

Dr Mohamed Youssef, Board Member at the Arab Contractors Company went a step further to describe collaboration as being an exercise that stretches across disciplines: “The collaboration of all the stakeholders in the construction industry is vital for the future, you cannot only look at the contractor as we are just one part of the cycle. You need to involve the customer and clients as well as contractors and engineering companies.”

With an eye on how success in Egypt can impact the wider region, Ayman Soleiman, Chief Executive Officer, The Sovereign Fund of Egypt revealed “We are trying to position Egypt as a gateway into Africa logistically, economically, and from a free-trade standpoint. We want to harness the sheer volume and size of our economy as a scalable powerhouse for procurement through efficient connectivity and we can deliver that as a service to smaller economies and smaller neighbouring countries.”

In his closing statement, Ihab Mehawed, Managing Director, Orascom Construction Plc  shared testament to the value of strong infrastructure: “Transportation is very important for any country’s economic growth – if you don’t have proper connectivity between cities and ports then you will not be able to export your goods competitively. The government should continue the effort they started and invest in infrastructure, it’s the only way to sustain our growth.”

On the third edition of The Big 5 Construct Egypt, Muhammed Kazi, Vice President at organisers concluded: “On behalf of dmg events I want to extend a sincere thank you to the governing bodies of Egypt, our international and local exhibitors, our partners and sponsors and to the business community in Cairo for their support and participation. It has been a delight to once again bring people together for vital face-to-face interactions.

“In addition, I wish to congratulate all of our winners of The Big 5 Egypt Impact Awards, the people, initiatives, and projects recognised this week are a true testament to the resilient and advancing construction sector in Egypt.”

Nineteen award winners were announced at the inaugural The Big 5 Egypt Impact Awards, a new platform to recognise innovation and project excellence in Egypt’s construction industry, winners included:

• Contractor of the Year: Hassan Allam Construction
• Architecture Firm of the Year: Vital Konzept
• Consultancy of the Year, in association with Hassan Allam Holding: Vital Konzept
• Engineering Firm of the Year: Con-creative Consultancy
• Female Construction Leader of the Year: Dr Manal Hussein, New City Developments
• Male Construction Leader of the Year: Maged El Hawary, ASGC Construction
• Young Female Construction Professional of the Year: Safy Hassan, Vital Konzept
• Young Male Construction Professional of the Year: Engineer Abdulhay M. Badawy, The Arab Contractors Company.
• Award for Health and Safety: ASGC Egypt
• Award for Inclusion & Diversity: Amreyah Cement Co (Intercement Egypt)
• Innovation of the Year, in association with Siemens Egypt: Five Egyptian Architects for the Grand Nile Plaza – A Living Pedestrian Bridge Over the Nile
• Sustainable Initiative of the Year: Mag for Contracting for project: DBAF SYSTEM
• Youth Engagement Initiative of the Year: The Arab Contractors Company for project: Bridging The Gap between Higher Engineering Education & Construction Requirement in AC-ICEMT).

The Big 5 Construct Egypt 2021 has been supported by Strategic Partner- Hassan Allam Holding, Platinum Partner- Orascom Construction, Construction Partner- The Arab Contractors, Banking Partner- Banque du Caire, Gold Sponsors- ABB, CRC Dorra, and Samcrete, Silver Sponsor- Keller, Stone Sponsor- Gremic, Supporting Association- The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Research Partner – ABiQ, and VIP Lounge Partner – Hanimex.