Industry leaders gather for a major occasion! The 2024 New Zealand International Building Expo & Summit (NZIBES) opens in style, with plenty of highlights to discover!

The eyes of New Zealand’s construction industry are on this gathering as the eagerly awaited 2024 New Zealand International Building Expo & Summit (NZIBES) finally opens in style!

 

On 9 August, the 2024 New Zealand International Building Expo & Summit officially opened at Auckland’s Due Drop Events Centre. This year’s theme is “Mobilising the construction industry” (Capacity, Capability, Collaboration). As New Zealand’s most influential annual construction industry event, it brought together leading brands and professionals from property, construction and design. Political and business representatives and Chinese community leaders also attended to celebrate the occasion.

 

Before eight on Friday morning, more than a hundred guests from the property and construction industries and wider New Zealand society had already gathered at the venue, awaiting the grand opening ceremony. Here is a timeline of the highlights from today’s opening day!

 

9:00 am 

Location: Due Drop Events Centre entrance

 

At this year’s expo entrance was a display of Excellence Awards shortlisted projects. More than a hundred people from the property and construction industries and wider New Zealand society gathered here to witness the expo’s opening ceremony. VIP guests included MPs, government agency officials, representatives of businesses and institutions, regional chamber of commerce presidents, community groups and Chinese community leaders. Their presence added further distinction to the event.

 

 

New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association (NZCBIA) President Frank Xu delivered a warm welcome and declared the expo officially open. National MP Nancy Lu and Labour MP Arena Williams also gave speeches, praising the importance of the Chinese construction community to New Zealand’s economy and people’s livelihoods.

 

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, applause rang out and guests gathered for photographs to mark the occasion.

 

9:30 am 

Location: Main exhibition area

 

The exhibition area officially opened to the public. This year’s expo brought together more than 110 exhibiting brands, offering everything from building materials, design and construction to lending and legal services.

 

 

The NZCBIA themed exhibition area drew large numbers of visitors. Carefully created by design studio I-N-D-J, the impressive display showcased all the projects shortlisted for this year’s Excellence Awards.

 

PlaceMakers Zone: As a longstanding NZIBES partner and sponsor, PlaceMakers returned this year with its signature PlaceMakers Zone, bringing the latest products and technologies to a lively exhibition floor.

 

11:00 am

Location: NZCBIA themed area

 

 

The expert discussion session began. Industry experts from a range of fields held a live Q&A, answering visitors’ questions about construction. Whether newcomers or seasoned professionals, visitors could find authoritative answers and valuable advice. The audience asked questions enthusiastically, and the experts answered patiently, creating a lively atmosphere.

 

 

3:30 pm

Location: Children’s play area

 

The Kids Zone was buzzing with activity. Children enjoyed a range of interactive activities from Paintbrush School and the Wow site foam castle, while parents could focus on exploring the expo. This year’s specially designed Kids Zone allowed parents bringing children over the weekend to take full advantage of the building expo while keeping their children entertained.

 

6:00 pm 

Location: Cordis Hotel

 

The NZCBIA annual gala dinner opened in style in The Great Room at Auckland’s Cordis Hotel. Nearly 1000 prominent New Zealand political and business figures and construction industry leaders gathered to enjoy fine food and wine while awaiting the awards ceremony. The dinner’s luxurious, elegant setting featured carefully considered details that created a festive atmosphere.

 

 

NZCBIA President Frank Xu gave an address thanking people from across the community for their support and contribution to New Zealand’s construction industry. He said this year’s expo and dinner would provide an important platform for advancing the industry.

 

 

Next came the launch of a report commissioned by the New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association (NZCBIA) from renowned New Zealand economist Shamubeel Eaqub, who wrote the NZCBIA Annual Construction Industry Report. Thanks to the combined efforts of economist Shamubeel, NZCBIA and the MultiMarketing team, it will provide an important foundation for “fresh understanding and deep reflection” on New Zealand’s construction industry and the wider economy.

 

 

The report analyses the latest figures and trends in New Zealand’s construction industry in detail, providing a valuable reference for its development. Some key figures from the report are:

 

 

• Total annual sales: NZ$99,000,000,000

• People directly employed: 306,000

• Total jobs supported: 576,000

• Annual spending with New Zealand suppliers: NZ$70,000,000,000

• Annual wage spending: NZ$17,500,000,000

 

These figures demonstrate the importance and substantial potential of New Zealand’s construction industry and point the way for its future development. The report was highly praised by attendees and became a highlight of the dinner.

 

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown each delivered major speeches at the dinner. Both strongly acknowledged the outstanding contributions that New Zealand’s Chinese community and NZCBIA have made to the construction industry and the economy over the years. Despite the significant challenges currently facing New Zealand’s economy, they remained confident that the construction industry would flourish further. They also encouraged Chinese construction professionals to keep striving, overcome difficulties and achieve even more in the near future.

 

 

This year’s Excellence Awards selection set a new benchmark, with a record number of entries. During the ceremony, awards were announced one after another, and recipients took to the stage to sustained applause. The two specially created awards attracted particular attention, with the announcement of their winners drawing an enthusiastic response from the entire room.