Baku, October 17 (AZERTAC). Today, BakuBuild 2012, the 18th Azerbaijan International Construction Exhibition and the largest building exhibition in the Caspian Region, opens at the Baku Expo Center and mark the opening of the Caspian Construction Week.

“Industry has become one of the most successful spheres in country’s economy after Azerbaijan gained independence.”

The statement came from chief of the department for international relations and information of the State Committee for Town Building and Architecture of Azerbaijan Jahangir Gojayev.

He was speaking at the official opening of the 18th Azerbaijan international exhibition ‘Construction’-BakuBuild-2012 at Baku Expo Center.

He also noted the success of BakuBuild: “In 18 years, the number of the guests at the exhibition, the expositions it features is growing all the time which evidences the continuous interest of foreign countries to the economy of the construction industry of our country”, the State Committee representative said.

Azerbaijan’s construction industry is today one of the fastest-growing sectors, and this is reflected in the specialised BakuBuild 2012 exhibition, an event showing growth and meeting the constantly expanding demands of the market. The Caspian Construction Week will for the first time take up all three of Baku Expo Center’s halls, as well as a corridor and a new outdoor space, posting a 20% growth in exhibition space. BakuBuild 2012 will welcome 455 exhibiting companies from 31 countries, with 60% of exhibitors regular participants that are once again using the show to promote their products in the Caspian market.

One of BakuBuild’s traditions is active participation from collective stands, and seven of these are taking part this year, among them regularly-appearing national groups from Finland, Germany, Italy, Iran, Spain and Portugal. The Greek national group is making its debut this year, exhibiting with the support of HEPO, the Greek Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Turkish firms are once again looking towards Azerbaijan’s market by booking a large amount of exhibition space, and participation from Chinese firms has increased. As well as this, the year-on-year rise in domestic companies at the event is particularly encouraging for the organisers, firms from Azerbaijan making up 35% of all exhibitors. The percentage of exhibitors that are newcomers rises every year, this year reaching 30% of the total. BakuBuild is officially sponsored by Holcim Azerbaijan.

One of BakuBuild’s features is its universal character. The full range of building products and services, new designs and innovative technologies can be found here, from simple tools to landscape design. BakuBuild is again presenting a rich assortment of building equipment, finishing and cladding materials, sanitary ware, windows, doors and much more. The exhibition is set to please the visitors with a whole range of presentations - in line with fast-growing hotel construction in Azerbaijan, special lighting devices and equipment and exclusive chandeliers for hotels, mansions and residential complexes will be presented. Producers and distributors will showcase exclusive furniture for hotels and offices, new roofing and flooring developments, and liquid wallpaper. A presentation of skylight windows for lofts will be completely new. Since last year the exhibition has attracted companies working in urban equipment for children and people with disabilities, and this year real models of children’s playground equipment can be seen as well as various devices to ensure comfortable urban living for people with disabilities. A new sector this year is Real Estate, presenting offerings in Turkish resort regions.

Machinery from the following leading brands will be on display in the outdoor exhibition located next to the complex: AzTexnika, (Azerbaijan), HIDROKON (Turkey), Hyundai (South Korea), Intertechnics (Azerbaijan), LTS MMC (Azerbaijan), MANN (Germany), Manitou (Azerbaijan), Prolink Caspian (Azerbaijan), VOLVO (Sweden), Wirtgen (Germany), Faymonville (Belgium), JCB (UK) and others.

BakuBuild will be held alongside Aqua-Therm Baku, the 4th International Exhibition for Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, Water Supply, Sanitary, Environmental Technology, Swimming Pool and Renewable Energie, and CIPS 2012, the 5th Anniversary Caspian International Protection, Security and Rescue Exhibition. Aqua-Therm Baku is gaining greater and greater popularity among international HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) producers, bringing together 78 exhibiting companies from Azerbaijan, Italy, Russia and Turkey alongside domestic representations of companies from Belgium, China, Finland, Sweden, Japan and others. At CIPS, companies from Azerbaijan, Italy, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey will present high-tech products including the latest equipment and technology in almost every area of security. The largest sector of CIPS 2012 is fire safety equipment.

BakuBuild is organized by ITE Group plc and Iteca Caspian.

Giving a fresh boost to construction market development in Azerbaijan and abroad by activating partnership between domestic and international producers and consumers of building materials and services, BakuBuild is once again confirming its status as a regional centre for establishing new business contacts and partnerships, and for industry experts to exchange experience and the latest information. The exhibition closes on 20 October.