Ecobuild: The Future of Sustainable Design, Construction and the Built Environment Comes to India

MUMBAI, India, March 20,2012 /PRNewswire/ --

UBM is delighted to announce the launch of Ecobuild India, taking place from Tuesday 16 - Thursday 18 April 2013 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC), Mumbai, India.

Organised by UBM Built Environment, a specialist media division of UBM plc for the construction, property, architecture and interiors markets and UBM India, the leading exhibition company in the country; the launch event reflects the increasing momentum towards sustainable building in India.

Ecobuild India has been launched after significant research and consultation with key stakeholders in this sector and is set to provide an unrivalled gateway into the expanding Indian market for sustainable built environment.

Reflecting the core values of Ecobuild in the UK - the world's largest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment, Ecobuild India is supported by some of the most important partners from the built environment including the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the UK's Building Research Establishment (BRE), Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

Ecobuild India comes at a time when investment in construction is at record levels. Every aspect of India's infrastructure requires massive investment. There is great demand for residential, commercial and industrial space in India's growing cities. Improving the country's infrastructure is the Indian government's top priority. In its 11th 5-year plan (2007-12) it invested US $500 billion and India's Planning Commission has set out detailed plans to spend a further US $1 trillion up to 2017.

India is second only to China in the number of Private Public Partnership (PPP) projects. The Planning Commission aims to develop this as a means of financing infrastructure projects as well as in social sectors such as healthcare and education. The government has prioritised meeting ambitious targets to invest and deliver improvement in the country's infrastructure capability, with an emphasis on housing, urbanisation, water, transport and power. PPP will provide vast opportunities for international property and construction firms.

The construction industry in India is predicted to be the third largest in the world by 2020 accounting for 7% of global spending. Currently worth over US $300 billion it accounts for 20% GDP. It is forecast to grow at 14% CAGR to 2015 to US $500 billion.

India's green building movement has taken off rapidly although it currently lacks legislative underpinning. Green building is currently c.5% (US $15 billion) of total construction market but set to grow to c.8% (US $39 billion) by 2015 at a CAGR of 28%. The India Green Building Council estimates there is a potential market of US $10 billion up to 2015 for compliant building materials and products.

"Sustainably developing an infrastructure to support this vast, youthful and vibrant population is high on the agenda in India right now," said Sanjeev Khaira, Managing Director of UBM India. "We see this as the ideal time to work with our UK colleagues to launch an Indian edition of the world's largest exhibition dedicated to the future of sustainable building design, construction and the built environment. We already organise India's largest event on sustainability, Renewable Energy India, along with some highly successful events in the built environment, which have synergies that will count towards making this launch a success."

"The launch event will distil the key components of Ecobuild in the UK to deliver a showcase of the most impressive sustainable construction projects from across India and the world, the latest and most innovative products, and a conference programme that will tackle the most pressing concerns and the biggest challenges facing the region," said James Blue, Ecobuild's Portfolio Director.

Notes to Editors:

About Ecobuild in the UK

Ecobuild is the world's largest exhibition dedicated to the future of sustainable building design, construction and the built environment. Launched in 2004, it's held annually in March at London's Excel Centre and is the fastest-growing trade event in the UK. The show is attended by the most influential individuals and organizations in design and construction. The number of professionals visiting the event has grown from 6,100 in 2006 to more than 55,000 in 2011, when the event occupied floor space of 60,000 sq. m.

http://www.ecobuild.co.uk

About UBM India

UBM India is B2B media company that specialises in exhibitions, conferences, publications and online. Our key sector coverage includes: energy, construction and infrastructure, security, medical technology and pharmaceuticals, IT and the food industry. UBM India is the largest independent events organiser in India and is a subsidiary of UBM plc, which is a London Stock Exchange listed company with 6,500 staff operating in 40 countries.

For more information visit: http://www.ubmindia.in

About UBM Built Environment

UBM Built Environment is UBM plc's specialist media division for the construction, architecture, and property markets. We are recognised as the leading provider of targeted information across the UK construction, architecture and commercial property industry with magazines, events, awards and online information services. We are widely acknowledged as having some of the most iconic brands in the market including Building, Property Week, BD, Barbour, ABI, RESI, Decorex, KBB and Sleep. We have recently published Winning Work in India, part of the winning work series from Building's White Papers, which provides in-depth information and practical guidance.

For more information visit: http://www.ubmbuiltenvironment.com

For further information about Ecobuild India, please contact:

Primary Media Contact : Rob Sahi, [email protected], 91-22-4046-1458

Secondary Media Contact : Jo Mayer, [email protected], 44-207-921-8151