Nigeria to host construction and mining industry’s biggest event, ConMin West Africa 2018,

After the success of ConMin West Africa 2017, the international trade fair for construction machinery, mining and building material machines is returning: the second ConMin West Africa will take place in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja between 15 and 17 May 2018.

The German service provider for international exhibitions IMAG, together with its Nigerian partner Afrocet Montgomery is offering companies the opportunity to showcase their product portfolio in Nigeria’s rapidly developing market.

The trade fair’s inaugural edition in June 2017 and the co-located National Mining Summit attracted over 1,500 professional visitors and 44 exhibitors from 11 countries, which included industry giants such as Bosch, Case, Dangote, Elkon and thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions.

The acting President of Nigeria was present to open the event itself, as were high-ranking representatives from the Nigerian government.

ConMin West Africa will see foremost suppliers, manufacturers and solution providers showcase an array of products from the construction, building materials and mining sectors. The show’s organisers have unveiled a new Pavilion for 2018 entirely dedicated to Sustainability; companies will showcase their products for water treatment plants, pipeline construction as well as waste systems. As last year, the conference will be accompanied by a business forum with technical sessions to which exhibitors will be able to make contributions.

The 2018 National Mining Summit will once more take place alongside ConMin West Africa. This two-day conference will see industry experts share their views about the latest developments, opportunities and challenges in the sector.

As the current largest economy in Africa, with a gross domestic product of USD 518 billion, and the biggest producer of crude oil on the continent, Nigeria is an ideal host country for ConMin West Africa 2018. Since the collapse of oil prices, Nigeria has introduced certain initiatives and reforms to help diversify the economy, the mining industry in particular has prioritised making use of the country’s other natural resources such as natural gas and coal. As such, Nigeria has plans to invest USD 7
billion over the next ten years to increase the share of the mining sector from 0.3 percent of GDP (2015) to 7 percent. The construction industry will also benefit from a number of large-scale projects planned, one of which is to build two entirely new cities close to Abuja and Lagos; Centenary City and Eko
Atlantic City. Improvements to infrastructure have also been given approval in addition to the construction of a large oil refinery in order to be able to process the oil extracted domestically and to no longer be reliant on imported oil.

“Nigeria is one of the most promising markets in the world and is becoming more and more important to the global economy”, says Peter Bergleiter, Managing Director IMAG GmbH, the subsidiary of Messe München which organises trade fairs outside of Germany. “We enable businesses to establish a foothold in the market at an early stage and obtain high quality contacts. The combination of a trade fair and co-located specialised conference attended by top professionals from the industry is very well received, as the overwhelmingly positive feedback from this year’s participants has proven.”

With a combined 145 years of experience, Afrocet Montgomery is a joint venture business which specialises in running high-end exhibitions and events in West Africa. Its extensive knowledge and
experience of the African market has enabled the company to develop a strong portfolio of shows which cover a wide range of sectors including the building and mining industries. As well as organising South Africa’s biggest building show, Interbuild, Afrocet Montgomery also runs Electra Mining Africa which is one of the world’s largest mining and power exhibitions based in Johannesburg.

IMAG, a subsidiary of the Messe München GmbH, organises trade fairs around the world and supports participants in international events outside Germany on behalf of public and private clients.

Since its foundation in 1946 in Munich, IMAG has been involved in over 5,000 international exhibitions abroad. IMAG’s annual portfolio encompasses approximately 30 trade fairs, spanning around 20 countries. The events focus in particular on the following sectors: automotive, commercial vehicles and auto parts industry /construction machinery, building material and mining / machine tools and further industries / environmental technology and analysis. In Africa, IMAG is engaged in construction fairs in
Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa.