Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is outpacing growth in the rest of the world, with the region’s economy expected to grow by 6.1% in 2014, and The TotallyConcrete Expo is the cement, concrete and construction industry’s soloution to keeping up with the pace of future demand, as industrial, commercial and residential infrastructure projects crop up at an increased rate across the continent.

Nedbank Group South Africa economist Nicky Weimar will deliver the keynote address at the event, which will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, from June 4 to 5, providing a clear picture of where the industry is headed and what measures are necessary to sustain this accelerated growth and drive direct foreign investment for efficient infrastructure delivery.

The economies of Côte d’Ivoire and Mozambique are at the helm of this growth, set to expand at a rate of 8% or more next year. Côte d’Ivoire, as Africa’s largest producer of cocoa, and Mozambique, the site of the world’s biggest gas discovery in the last decade, will set the pace for the entire continent.

Rapid infrastructure development is required now more than ever to sustain these predicted growth rates, with growth estimates climbing higher as 2014 approaches.

In Tanzania, for example, cement demand grew by 10% last year to 2.7-million tons, while growth in the building industry accelerated to 6.5% in the third quarter of 2012. Local cement manufacturers and construction industry stakeholders must prepare for the intensified competition that will follow this predicted growth in the market.

Industry experts will share their best practices at the expo for navigating Africa’s pending growth and change. Nigerian Cement Manufacturers Association president Joseph Makoju will outline the importance of defining African industry standards for concrete specifications, applications and cement quality control.

Namibian Works and Transport Minister Erkki Nghimtina and Ohorongo Cement Namibia MD Hans-Wilhelm Schütte will address the issue of infant industry protection and the need for import tariffs to protect the national economy.

TotallyConcrete Expo programme direc- tor Soren du Preez aims to provide participants with an unprecedented Pan-African networking opportunity.

“Sub-Saharan Africa’s most influential project owners will congregate at the TotallyConcrete Expo to build relationships and identify new and future commercial partners in preparation for exponential industry growth,” he predicts.

Industrial and commercial developments are also on the upswing, with members of Parliament in Ghana calling for the rehabilitation of roads to boost the regional economy and demand for retail space in shopping centres now experi-encing a growth rate of 7.8% a year across the southern continent.

Developers require solutions for innovative, sustainable construction and will be at the TotallyConcrete Expo to learn from construction experts such as Group Five Engineering & Construction company engineering director Hans Rossocha and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Ghana building and roads research institute director Dr Eugene Atiemo.

Concrete Society of Southern Africa CEO John Sheath, one of the endorsing associations of the event, states that the TotallyConcrete Expo 2013, as part of ConcreteWeek, will provide a distinctively African platform where the concrete and construction industries can converge for skills development, access to cutting-edge building and construction technologies and cross-border information sharing.

The TotallyConcrete Expo is expected to provide a vital plat- form from which to launch the African built environment of tomorrow.

African built environment of tomorrow.