Beirut, Lebanon: Advanced Construction and Technology Services (ACTS), a leading consulting organisation in the field of construction materials and geotechnical engineering, has announced this year’s staging of the international Future Concrete conference scheduled on June 19th at Le Royal Hotel Dyabeh, Lebanon. ACTS is collaborating with ACI Lebanon Chapter for this highly-anticipated annual capability-building event, which will highlight the latest developments and technological advancements to address the challenges in the changing landscape of the construction industry.
Lebanese construction statistics remain stable, and has in fact registered moderate growth in the first quarter of the year, despite continuing unrest in the region. Building permits and cement deliveries, both considered as leading indicators of construction activity, picked up from January to March, revealing the demand trends in the real estate sector. Construction permits rose by 19 per cent compared to the same months last year, while cement deliveries, the coincident indicator of building activity, grew by 7.4 per cent from last year, or a total of 1,210 thousand tons in January-March 2014 as against last year’s 1,127 thousand tons.
Experts predict that potential developments and reconstruction in the region would provide viable opportunities in the construction, infrastructure and real estate industries in Lebanon and the neighboring countries. Lebanon is being provided with international funding for infrastructure developments needed to accommodate the massive influx of refugees to the country from Syria. The United Nation’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia also issued a forecast that when reconstruction in Syria begins, their demand for cement will be at around some 30 million tons per year, which is a very substantial rise in demand that will benefit the Lebanese construction materials industry.
“Future Concrete Lebanon 2014 is built on the successes of previous Future Concrete conferences in the Middle East. Bringing the event to Lebanon is reaffirming our commitment in the Lebanese Concrete Society and ACTS to exert every effort in raising the expertise and professionalism in the local construction industry. Growth, new challenges and a host of other changes in the industry all reflect an increasingly dynamic scene. We believe that keeping up-to-date with construction trends and technologies will be a key competitive differentiator. This is what Future Concrete conference is all about and we hope our industry professionals will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to learn from the experts and network with their peers,” Khaled Awad, Chairman of ACTS, said.