A historic partnership boosts Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing MICE industry in alignment with Vision 2030. IFAT will be co-located with dmg events’ Global Water Expo, creating a powerful platform to drive significant impact for the waste and water industries.
dmg events is collaborating with Messe München to co-organize the prestigious IFAT brand in Saudi Arabia in 2026. The debut edition of IFAT, the leading trade fair for environmental technologies focused on water, sewage, waste, and raw materials management, will be held alongside dmg events’ Global Water Expo (GWE) from January 26 to 28, 2026, at the Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center.
First launched in 2023 by dmg events, GWE has quickly become a key industry platform, uniting leaders, policymakers, and solution providers to shape the future of Saudi Arabia’s water infrastructure sector. IFAT, on the other hand, is globally recognized as the leading network of events dedicated to water, recycling, and circularity. It takes place in major markets such as Germany, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, and Singapore, offering innovations and solutions to tackle environmental challenges.
These events come at a time of unprecedented growth in Saudi Arabia’s waste and water industries, which together form a multi-billion-dollar market. The waste management sector alone is valued at USD $6 billion in 2025, projected to reach USD $8.72 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of 7.8%. Additionally, the government has allocated USD $80 billion for new water and sanitation projects. With rising demand and substantial public investment, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a key growth region for environmental infrastructure, making GWE and IFAT essential platforms for industry stakeholders to connect, collaborate, and seize these opportunities.
“GWE and IFAT are prime examples of dmg events driving transformative growth in Saudi Arabia by bringing vital industries together to help achieve the ambitious goals of Vision 2030,” said Geoff Dickinson, CEO of dmg events. “Having successfully run GWE for the past two years, our partnership with Messe München to introduce IFAT is a natural next step. The two events complement each other perfectly.”
Both dmg events and Messe München bring decades of expertise in curating world-class exhibitions. dmg events has been operating in Saudi Arabia since 2011, establishing itself as a leader in the Kingdom’s trade exhibition sector. With offices in Riyadh and Jeddah, dmg events has shown a deep commitment to the Saudi market, hosting major events across the construction and infrastructure industries, including the recently concluded Big 5 Construct Saudi and Saudi Infrastructure Expo.
Messe München, a global leader in trade fairs, hosts around 90 events worldwide, including twelve major trade fairs such as bauma, automatica, BAU, and electronica.
“Saudi Arabia offers tremendous opportunities for industry development, and dmg events’ proven success in the region makes them the ideal partner to launch IFAT,” said Stefan Rummel and Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Co-CEOs of Messe München. “Together, we look forward to delivering world-class exhibitions that will support the Kingdom’s MICE and economic transformation.”
With dmg events leading large-scale exhibitions in the region and Messe München introducing its globally established brands, IFAT will bring a new dimension to Saudi Arabia’s trade fair landscape, contributing to the Kingdom’s economic growth and advancing the goals of Vision 2030.
