KUALA LUMPUR: Southeast Asia's biggest annual architectural event, Architecture, Interior Design and Building Exhibition (ARCHIDEX 2017) is targeting transactions of over RM1 billion this year.
This, according to event organizer Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM), is more or less the amount achieved during last year's event.
"We saw transactions amounting to almost RM1 billion during ARCHIDEX 2016, and given the upward trend of transactions year-on-year since we began this exhibition in 1999, we are quite confident of achieving over RM1 billion in transactions,” said its president, Ezumi Harzani Ismail.
"We are also expecting a five per cent increase in visitors to 36,000, from around the region, this year," he added.
ARCHIDEX 2017 is running from July 19 to 22 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Last year's exhibition saw 71 per cent of exhibitors successfully generating new project leads; 86 per cent of exhibitors successfully increasing their brand awareness; and 1,660 international delegates from the total of 34,300 visitors.
Deputy Minister of Works, Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, had earlier said that a prime focus of ARCHIDEX 2017 is in increasing the usage of local materials in mega projects.
"The heavy reliance on imported goods in mega projects impacts the development of our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and puts pressure on the current balance," she said during her keynote delivery at the opening ceremony earlier today.
"The government has established the Current Account Task Force (CAT) to identify emerging risks to the current account surplus and formulate action plans to counter them. Events such as ARCHIDEX also help to increase the usage of local content as well as promote more local consultants, while reducing dependence on foreign professionals," she added.
Rosnah also stressed that Malaysian SMEs should utilize all opportunities available by adopting new technologies and ways of doing business in order to compete for businesses globally to survive.
ARCHIDEX is endorsed by Matrade and supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Works, the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the Malaysian Convention and Exhibitions Bureau and the Malaysian Green Building Confederation.