Safety Design in Buildings (SDiB), an initiative co-founded with Intersec, a leading trade fair for security, safety and fire protection, is now expanding to Tehran, Iran, next month with a conference on November 21.  

The event, which was hosted in Dubai back in 2012, has reached all over the GCC and Egypt.  

Messe Frankfurt is supporting the first Safety Design in Buildings (SDiB) conference on November 22 in Tehran, Iran.

The move comes following the tremendous interest expressed by Iranian delegates at this year's Intersec in Dubai. The January event saw almost 2,000 security and safety experts from Iran fly in for the mega event.

"What I perceive in Iran is a strong will to invest, as it has the resources in order to do so. Due to the sanctions imposed, there is a pent-up demand, combined with a strong political will to modernise the country’s basic infrastructure," remarked Messe Frankfurt Middle East show director Andreas Rex.

"Iran, the second-largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa after Saudi Arabia, with the second-largest population has the necessary will, resources, and opportunities in order to achieve this modernisation," stated Rex.

“It is not common where you have a market with all three of these prerequisites. Thus it is an exciting time to enter the Iranian market. These significant first-entrant advantages make it possible even for smaller brands to achieve a major lead over the bigger companies in such a market, if they can mobilise quickly enough,” said Rex.

Another major reason for this foray is that Iran is also the single most untapped market in the region.

"Its construction industry is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9 per cent in the period 2016 to 2022.

The fire-safety market, in turn, is heavily dependent on sustained growth in the construction industry, especially as outmoded regulations are updated, which also provides an opportunity for outdate fire-safety equipment and systems to be replaced or modernised.

According to him, the fire-safety market in Iran is projected to grow at a CAGR in excess of 10 per cent in the same period.

The strength of the SDiB conference programme, stated Rex, lies in the fact that it is built around knowledge transfer and open communication between experts, regulators, and the construction community at large. “It integrates the entire fire-safety ecosystem,” he added.

Messe Frankfurt's top official pointed out that legislation or codes were often unclear, resulting in uncertainty among professionals. "Architects inquire as to what codes and standards they should follow, whether for example British or American or local codes, in order to get a building approved," he noted.

SDiB provides practical assistance in effecting the necessary legislation in different markets, as well as gaining the necessary approvals.

A major component of this is elaborating on the importance of fire safety, and the motivation behind the decisions, designs, criteria and reasoning that has gone into developing the various codes and ratings, he noted.

"Fire safety is often not taken sufficiently seriously until there is a major catastrophe," stated Rex.

"This is followed invariably by the architect, builder, system installers, facilities management and building operations, regulators and even civil defence engaging in the ‘blame game’," he noted.

“The truth is that fire safety is a team effort that requires mutual cooperation. Every stakeholder needs to know what is required from them in order to make it happen,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service