Equipment, technologies and opportunities will be on view next year at the sixth edition of the PPPC show, dedicated to Saudi printing, packaging, plastics and chemicals and staged every two years. The event will be held over five days from March 16, 2003 in the Saudi capital, organisers Riyadh Exhibitions Company announced.

The announcement comes as manufacturers and investors set their eyes on what could be one of the world's great development booms in Saudi Arabia, which will cover the construction of six new industrial cities. The additional space will support the expansion of the manufacturing sector including projects in the printing, plastic products, processing and packaging and food supply fields.

"The high growth of the Saudi private sector is creating a booming demand for imports for the full range of printing, packaging and plastic technologies and supplies," said Riyadh Exhibitions Company media and marketing manager Hani Habib. Some 600 new factories, with investments of $42 billion, are planned for the Kingdom's private sector. The new enterprises will expectedly create a tremendous demand for machinery and technologies.

Habib said the chemicals section was expected to generate much interest, and opportunities for suppliers would be widespread during the variegated display.

The Kingdom has he largest number of food processing and manufacturing companies in the Middle East. It has attracted 72 per cent of the $2 billion investment made in the Gulf states' packaging industry. The food and beverage industry with over 350 factories consume three quarters of the Kingdom's packaging output. The chemicals and plastics sector is second in size only to the oil industry.

The exhibition is also expected to generate interest among entrepreneurs and business professionals from other GCC countries. Governments of Gulf states are committed to industrialisation and diversification away from dependence on oil incomes. According to Habib, the previous event held in 2001 drew 10 national pavilions and 500 companies from all over the world. Buyers came from Saudi Arabia and also from the GCC states and the Middle East.

"PPPC 2001 was the largest trade fair for the printing, plastic, packaging and chemical industry in the Middle East," Habib said. The country pavilions represented Taiwan, Austria, Germany, Italy, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

"The show offers exceptional opportunities to establish new sales, expand existing ones and create good potential contacts at the centre of the Middle East's leading market," the official said. Riyadh Exhibitions Company has over the past 22 years organised more than 240 international trade fairs representing every economic sector. The company holds 25 annual international trade fairs. Five of its shows have received the Union des Foires Internationales (UFI) certification.