Second Bauma Africa confirmed for 2015

The inaugural Bauma Africa exhibition in Johannesburg, South Africa, has been hailed as a success by Elaine Crewe, CEO of organiser Messe München International (MMI) South Africa, who confirmed plans for a second show in 2015.

“We plan to hold the next Bauma Africa in two years' time. The first exhibition attracted 754 exhibitors from 38 countries,” Ms Crewe said, “And preliminary figures suggest that we will meet the 15,000 visitor target we have been hoping for.

“Registered visitors from 101 countries have so far taken part, 41 of which were African countries.”

When MMI first announced first plans to introduce a new exhibition for the construction equipment, mining and materials extraction/processing industries in South Africa, it was hoped that around 200 exhibitors would take part using 20,000 m² of exhibition space.

But this turned out to be a conservative estimate, and the show expanded to fill more than 60,000 m² of exhibition space at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg.

Ms Crewe said the popularity of the show was testament to the growth opportunities in Africa’s construction market. “In South Africa alone, the government’s current five-year National Development Plan has set aside ZAR 800 billion (US$ 82.1 billion) for construction projects,” Ms Crewe explained.

Bauma Africa began on 18 September and runs until 21 September. It has not yet been confirmed whether the second show will take place in the same venue.