Nearly a month after the controversial demolition of the iconic Hall of Nations at Pragati Maidan Complex in the heart of the national Capital, the Central government on Tuesday announced the launch of a ₹2,500 crore “sophisticated project” to redevelop the complex into a world-class, state-of-the-art Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC).
On the detailed timeline, an official statement said vendors for the IECC project and traffic interventions would be in place by the end of June 2017 and construction work would start by July 2017. The Convention Centre would be completed by November-December 2018 and the entire project by July-August 2019, it added.
Addressing journalists, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) L. C. Goyal and NBCC (India) Limited CMD A. K. Mittal released the layout and the design of the IECC and an outline of comprehensive solutions to decongest the area in and around Pragati Maidan. Once redeveloped, the IECC would be a landmark in Delhi and a symbol of “new India”, the statement said.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved the IECC on January 24 at an estimated cost of ₹2,254 crore (excluding the cost on account of traffic interventions). Statutory approvals like layout plan and concept design by the Delhi Urban Art Commission, the National Monuments Authority, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation; layout plan and building plans by the Delhi Fire Service; and traffic interventions by the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) have been obtained, the statement said.
It added that clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is expected soon.
Conceived by the NBCC in association with ARCOP Associates and Aedas of Singapore, the IECC will have basement parking facility for 4,800 vehicles. The Convention Centre, “incorporating the rich architectural heritage of Delhi”, will have seating facility for 7,000 people in single format as well as an amphitheatre. It will have 30 meeting rooms of different sizes. The implementation of the project shall have the provision for monetisation of land for a 500-key hotel. Exhibition segment of the IECC will have an exhibition space of one lakh square metre.
The Hindu had reported in August last year that the IECC was facing delays as two crucial steps — the appointment of an architectural consultant by State-owned construction firm NBCC and approval for the proposed project by the CCEA — had missed the March 2016 deadline despite the project being closely monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The report also said that the PMO had taken interest in the project as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen that India, and more importantly New Delhi, should have a ‘state-of-the-art and iconic’ IECC that could attract investors from across the world and host mega events.
Mr. Modi had pointed out in internal meetings that India was yet to have an IECC like the ones in Shanghai (China) and Hannover (Germany).
The government had said that the global Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) market, which supports four lakh conferences and exhibitions, is worth about $280 billion and is a significant economic driver for many nations. The Asian MICE market is estimated at $60 billion, it said, adding that in the absence of world-class exhibition and conference facilities, India hasn’t benefited from the potential benefits of this segment.
