Demand for Dubai office space to double this year
Dubai: Dubai's office space will double this year, as a 4.7 million square metre expansion in the area is scheduled between 2007 and 2010.
More than 250 companies from the United States, Europe and Far East participated in the Office Exhibition 2008 at Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre, which ends today. They exhibited their innovative designs at the seventh edition of the exhibition, the largest yet.
The boom in office space was reflected in the exhibition, which included more participants and visitors than ever before, with a growing number of companies in the UAE and across the region needing to furnish and equip their offices.
In the UAE alone the office furniture market is already estimated at between $190 million and $272 million. But this figure can be expected to rise in line with expansion of office space, expected to take a current supply of 2.4 million square million to three times that figure by 2010.
"The double-digit growth of Dubai's economy has already propelled the development of the Office Exhibition," said Paula Al Chami of DMG World Media, the exhibition organiser.
"Now we will increasingly see suppliers from across the region coming to the city to emulate its success," she said.
Major international companies such as Allsteel, Boss Design, Freeza, Herman Miller, Interstuhl and Sedus Stoll took part in the exhibition, as well as local companies like Bafco and The Office Furniture People.
"The biggest worldwide companies are here today and they are sharing their latest designs in furniture. In this part of the world, the offices are usually grand and they require stylishly designed furniture," Bernard Walsh, managing director of DMG World Media Dubai, told Gulf News.
"This exhibition had the most interesting, exciting products in the sector that have ever been seen in the Gulf," said Walsh.
It also featured events such as seminars and workshops by Fred Berns, a well known personality in the interior design business and, Eames Demetrios an iconic designer of the 20th Century.
Gulf News By Nadia Saleem, Staff Reporter
Published: February 05, 2008, 23:41
