The 14th edition of Big 5 Construct South Africa opened today at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, inaugurated by Sihle Zikalala, Deputy Minister, Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, South Africa.
The opening ceremony was attended by Alessandra Rainaldi, Head of Living Industry Unit, Consumer Goods Office, Italian Trade Agency (ITA)A Rome; Roberta Gaggioli, FINCO Delegate, Italy; and Leonard S. Swana, Managing Director, Precisions Edge Management. Representatives from dmg events including Ben Greenish, Executive Vice President, Josine Heijmans, Senior Vice President, Tracy-Lee Behr, Portfolio Director and Sandra Barrow, Event Director were also present.
The event is co-located with the 2nd edition of South Africa Infrastructure Expo, featuring Transport Evolution Africa. Taking place until 11 June, the events gather more than 400 exhibitors from over 25 countries, with over 12,000 attendees expected across the three days.
Commenting on the events, Sihle Zikalala, Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, South Africa, said: “This event brings together stakeholders from across the construction sector, government and the private sector. It provides a platform to share South Africa’s infrastructure project pipeline, connect investors with opportunities and showcase innovative technologies and equipment that will help drive innovation and growth in the construction sector.”
Also present on the opening day of the exhibition were H.E. Shri Harish Kumar, Acting Consul General of India in Johannesburg and K Nilvana Darama Yildirimgec, Ambassador of Türkiye to South Africa.
Speaking about the exhibition, H.E. Shri Harish Kumar highlighted the role of Indian companies in supporting South Africa’s infrastructure growth through engineering expertise, technology and long-term partnerships across transport, energy and construction. He noted that trade exhibitions such as Big 5 Construct South Africa help transform business conversations into collaborations by connecting companies, showcasing innovation and creating opportunities for investment, technology transfer and job creation. The event helps bring together Indian capabilities and African opportunities to build the infrastructure of the future.
“Turkish construction companies have delivered landmark projects across Africa, demonstrating strong capability in infrastructure, smart cities and major civil works. South Africa’s pipeline of highways, railways, port modernization and urban development projects presents significant opportunities for Turkish contractors and suppliers to bring that experience to this market,” said K Nilvana Darama Yildirimgec. “The Turkish companies represented at Big 5 Construct South Africa have been active in the region for decades, offering high-quality, competitive products across niche construction categories. I encourage them to build on this presence by establishing local partnerships and I look forward to seeing greater Turkish participation in South Africa’s project pipeline in the years ahead.”
The exhibition floor brings together manufacturers, suppliers and solution providers spanning the full construction, infrastructure and transport value chain, creating opportunities for buyers, contractors, consultants and project owners to engage directly with local and international companies.
The exhibitor line-up at Big 5 Construct South Africa includes Grundfos, Maurer Africa, Stanley Black and Decker, John Deere and Top-Werk, among other leading names in the industry. Among the top brands showcasing solutions at South Africa Infrastructure Expo were Amatola Water Board, Bosch and Cinque. Meanwhile Transport Evolution Africa brought featured Fareye, Syntell and Cresco Project Finance, among others, representing logistics technology, transport systems management and project finance solutions across Africa’s transport sector.
Dedicated country pavilions from China, Italy, Malaysia, Pakistan and the UAE headline an international line-up s, with major exhibiting nations including Canada, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia and the UK further reinforcing the depth of global participation.
Josine Heijmans, Senior Vice President, dmg events, said: “The connections taking place here reflect the resilience, ambition and potential of South Africa’s construction, transport and infrastructure sectors. The strong engagement from visitors, speakers and exhibitors on opening day highlights the importance of having a platform where the industry can connect, collaborate and explore solutions together to support project delivery and growth across the value chain. We look forward to building on this momentum over the next two days through discussions, partnership-building and knowledge exchange.”
Supporting infrastructure delivery discussions
Running alongside the exhibition, South Africa Infrastructure Summit opened with a keynote delivered by the Summit Chair, Lufuno Ratsiku, Infrastructure Specialist & Managing Director, Gentec Consulting, where he emphasized that advancing South Africa is a shared responsibility, requiring collective action from government, business and society.
Mameetse Masemola, Head of Infrastructure South Africa, addressed South Africa’s infrastructure delivery and said: “If we maintain our current trajectory, South Africa will not only expand its infrastructure pipeline, but strengthen its position as a competitive, investable economy with the institutional capacity to deliver infrastructure at scale.” Masemola said.
A panel discussion moderated by Doreen Kanetey-Essel, Head of Advisory, Harmattan Renewables, featured Annamari Uys, Director, Turner & Townsend; Niraja Shukla, Senior Investment Officer – Transport, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); Michael Mashinini, Finance Director, ROMH; Thabo Moodie, Chief Operating Officer, Oricred; and Joel Mphela, Divisional Executive: Venture Capital and Corporate Finance, National Empowerment Fund (NEF). Discussions called for the mobilizing of private capital, strengthening investor confidence and advancing infrastructure projects from concept to implementation through blended finance and collaborative funding approaches.
Big 5 Talks: CPD-certified sessions across three days
Running alongside the exhibition, Big 5 Talks delivers more than 20 CPD-certified sessions across seven themes over the three days. Sessions on Day 1 offered insights from Prof Justus Agumba, Associate Professor, Department of Building Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, with a masterclass on the digital transformation of construction from BIM to AI.
Fellow speaker Bessie Hlophe, Senior Manager: Legal and Compliance, South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP), addressed professional practice and compliance through a session on understanding the SACAP Act, rules and code of conduct. In another session, Holger Redecker, Chief Executive Officer, Maurer, presented smart monitoring systems for bearings and expansion joints in critical infrastructure. Big 5 Construct South Africa, co-located with South Africa Infrastructure Expo, which includes Transport Evolution Africa, is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm daily until 11 June 2026 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. Entry is free for trade and industry professionals aged 21 and over. For more information and to register, visit:
Big 5 Construct South Africa: www.big5constructsouthafrica.com
South Africa Infrastructure Expo: www.southafricainfrastructureexpo.com
Transport Evolution Africa Expo: www.transportevolution.com
