Egypt pavilion delay weighs on event numbers

The number of companies exhibiting at Abu Dhabi's Cityscape property show later this week is down on last year despite a 15 per cent reduction in stand rates.

The number of companies exhibiting at Abu Dhabi's Cityscape property show are down by five. Ravindranath K / The National

The number of companies exhibiting at Abu Dhabi's Cityscape property show, starting today, is down on last year, despite a 15 per cent reduction in stand rates.

According to Informa Exhibitions, the company organising the high- profile event, about 120 stands have been booked by firms taking part at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre today through Thursday - five fewer than the previous year.

Chris Speller, the group director at Informa Exhibitions, said that companies were paying headline rates of US$665 (Dh2,442) per square metre to take stands at this year's exhibition - down from $778 per square metre last year - as a result of the number of days being cut from four to three.

He added that plans by the Egyptian government to take a large pavilion at this year's show had been delayed by 12 months because of the political situation in Egypt, but had not been scrapped. Government bodies will be taking about 15 per cent of the space - a similar proportion to previous years.

Cityscape Abu Dhabi, like its Dubai equivalent Cityscape Global which is held annually in October, has dwindled in recent years to a fraction of its size during the property boom in the UAE. Back then off-plan investors would flock to throw down cheques for thousands of dirhams on lavish exhibition stands.

"We have seen that a number of international exhibitors such as architects have withdrawn from this year's exhibition due to the continued gloom in the global development market," said Mr Speller.

"The event reflects the companies currently active in the Abu Dhabi market. We don't want real estate speculators. We want it to be a serious event for the real estate industry."