Colombia. The growth of construction in Colombia and advances in sustainability will be the axes of the XIV edition of the International Fair Expoconstrucción and Expodiseño, which from May 16 to 21 will bring together representatives of 18 countries in Bogotá, informed its organizers.
This fair, which is held every two years, will involve about 600 exhibitors from Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, United Arab Emirates, Chile, China, Spain, United States, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Russia, Vietnam and the host country.
In addition, the presence of 200 buyers from the United States, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Peru, Mexico, among others, is expected, the organizers said.
According to the Colombian Chamber of Construction (Camacol), this sector contributed almost 78 billion pesos (about 26,194 million dollars) to the country's economy last year, which represents 9% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
"Our growth reached 9% of GDP, which translates into a demand for inputs and materials annually of 34 trillion pesos (about 11,418 million dollars)," said the executive president of Camacol, Sandra Forero.
ProColombia, the state agency in charge of promoting tourism, foreign investment, exports and the country brand, said that exports of construction materials increased by 4.7% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2016, when they totaled 353.7 million dollars.
Among the innovations that will be presented at the fair is the "Sustainable Domotech", a structure that combines steel, vinyl, fiber cement, glass, wood and solar panels, and that will show the technologies of saving and reusing materials.
"In the Domotech you can experience the technology for the sector in terms of sustainable construction that has been implemented to be responsible from the industry with the reduction of emissions of all types of pollutants," said the general manager of Camacol, Martha Moreno Mesa.
