News DeskDubai, UAE – Senior government officials and industry leaders from across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) will gather in Dubai next month for the 46th edition of Big 5 Global, one of the world’s largest construction events, to explore the future of urban development, sustainability and digital transformation in the built environment.
Running from 24–27 November 2025 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the event will feature four high-level summits — the Big 5 Global Leaders’ Summit, LiveableCitiesX Summit, Big 5 FutureTech Summit, and GeoWorld Summit — drawing more than 1,200 delegates and 100 speakers from government, private sector, and international organisations.
According to Ventures Onsite, the MEASA region currently has more than $9 trillion worth of active projects, underscoring the scale of urbanisation and infrastructure growth shaping the market.
Leadership and legacy
At the centre of this year’s thought leadership programme is the Big 5 Global Leaders’ Summit, themed “Leading change. Building legacies.” The summit will bring together ministers, CEOs, financiers and construction executives to discuss strategies for resilience, return on investment and sustainable growth in an uncertain global economy.
Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, will deliver the keynote address, highlighting the importance of public-private collaboration to drive innovation and agility across energy, water, housing, infrastructure and transport sectors.
Other speakers include Abdulla Al Blooshi, Acting Director General of the Urban Planning & Permits Center at Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport; Andrea Di Gregorio, Executive Director, Ras Al Khaimah Municipality; and Adel Abdulla Albreiki, CEO of Aldar Projects.
Liveable cities and shared futures
Extending the leadership dialogue to urban design and city planning, the LiveableCitiesX Summit, themed “Global cities. Shared futures.”, will examine the creation of sustainable, human-centric cities.
The programme will feature Dr Saif Al Nasri, Acting Undersecretary, Department of Municipalities and Transport, who will headline an executive dialogue moderated by Vladislav Boutenko, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG’s Global Center for Future Cities.
Speakers will also include Nada Taryam, CEO of BEEAH; Mansour Abdulnour Al Rais, Director of the Executive Planning Department, Dubai Municipality; and Engr Nasser bin Salem Al Wadai, General Manager for Projects at Riyadh Region Municipality.
International experts from the Netherlands, Italy, the US, China and Saudi Arabia will join the summit, including Dag Detter, Investment Advisor at Detter & Co, who emphasised the importance of efficient public asset management to unlock urban investment and long-term value creation.
Technology transforming construction
As the industry embraces digital innovation, the Big 5 FutureTech Summit, themed “Shaping tomorrow. Driving disruption.”, will explore the real-world applications of artificial intelligence, data analytics and digital ecosystems in construction and infrastructure.
Speakers include Mohammed Shehata, Senior Vice President – Asset Management, Expo City Dubai; Eng Marwan AlJanaahi, Senior Structural Engineer at Dubai Municipality; Marc Nezet, Group Chief Strategy Officer at Nemetschek SE; and Luke Wu, Managing Director of The GEAR by Kajima.
Harnessing geo-intelligence
The final summit, GeoWorld Summit, will highlight the growing importance of spatial data in infrastructure planning and mobility systems.
Panelists such as Engr Mohamed Al Marri, CEO of the Global Alliance for Artificial Intelligence; Engr Maitha Ali Al Nuaimi, Director of the GIS Center at Dubai Municipality; and Yasmeen Al Hashmi, Director of Asset Management at the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport, will discuss how geospatial intelligence can enhance data-driven decision-making.
Building regional resilience
“Together, the four summits form the foundation of Big 5 Global’s thought leadership programme, aligning global collaboration with actionable strategies for economic resilience, sustainable development, digital growth and supply chain excellence,” said Josine Heijmans, Senior Vice President at dmg events, organiser of Big 5 Global.
The event is supported by several key government and private sector partners, including the Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, Dubai Municipality, Ras Al Khaimah Municipality, Department of Municipalities and Transport, and Riyadh Region Municipality, among others.
Big 5 Global 2025 runs from 24–27 November 2025 at Dubai World Trade Centre.
