Prime Minister took metro ride to reach the Foundation Stone Laying ceremony for India International Convention Bureau, held today at 4 pm, in New Delhi. Addressing the gathering at the event, the Prime Minister said, “This project will emerge as a centre of energy of over 80 crore youth. It is not just a convention and expo centre, but a vibrant centre for domestic and international business. It will be like a mini city within Delhi, there’ll be convention halls, expo halls, meeting halls, hotels, market, offices and several other facilities within the campus.”
The Prime Minister further stated that even the smaller countries have the capacity to hold large conferences, adding that due to the creation of such modern arrangements, many countries have become the hub of conference & MICE tourism, thus sustaining the economy around it. “But we have not had this thought for years in this direction. Large conferences were restricted to only a few centers, such as Pragati Maidan. Now this thinking has changed and the result of this is today’s landmark development,” the PM said. Clearly, it reflects that the mindscape is changing and the Indian Exhibition & Convention industry has a bright future ahead.
With a budget of Rs 25,703 crore, the IICC will be built over an area of 221 acres comprising over 1 million sq. mt. of built up space. The construction is planned over two phases, with phase one planned to be completed by December 2019, and phase two by December 2024. The construction will be in line with green building principles and Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Platinum rating standards. IICC complex will have a dedicated underground Metro station which will be an extension of the airport high speed metro corridor and is being constructed by the Delhi Metro.
South Korean Exhibition Venue KINTEX has won the bid to operate IICC for the next two decades.
