The capital is finally set to begin work on the International Exhibition-Cum-Convention centre in Dwarka, which had been approved in 2010 itself. The long-delayed project aims to create a world-class national exhibition and convention centre in order to significantly push MICE tourism bolster India’s stature as a major destination for international MICE events.
The proposed INR 26,000 cr. international exhibition-cum-convention centre (ECC), to be setup in Dwarka, Delhi, has been finally given clearance by the environment ministry. This move is likely to pave way for the development of the biggest such convention centre in South Asia. According to a report published in the Financial Express, if sources are to be believed, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs could soon be taking up the proposal to approve the first round of funds, 2,800 crores, for the project. The convention centre is set to be spread over 90 hectares of land in Sector 25, Dwarka, with overall built-up space of 1.02 million square metres. The developmental work on the project is to be bifurcated, with the trunk infrastructure, exhibition and convention components of the centre to be built by the central government and commercial components like hotels, retail and office space will be developed in public-private partnership mode.
Last year, after the cabinet approval for the project, the Delhi Development Authority had transferred the land required for the project to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). DIPP is the current owner of the project whereas the Mumbai-Delhi Industrial Development Corporation is the acting knowledge partner.
As per several reports in the media, the project, which is expected to be completed by December 2019, once fully operational, could create 5,00,000 direct and indirect jobs and raise India’s share three times in the Asian MICE market to 15%. The ECC is to be developed to house all important facilities to make it at par with international standards. The facility will house convention centres, a financial centre, exhibition halls, banquet halls, hotels and food and beverage outlets, commercial and retail services and common internal infrastructure facilities.
Approved in 2010, the project only got the allotted land from the DDA last September, and since then there has been notable progress in the project in terms of planning, designing and site clearance for the project. The convention centre is to be located 15 minutes from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is also planning to extend the Airport Express metro line from Dwarka, sector 21 to the convention centre. The National Highways Authority of India plans to create dedicated entry and exit points to the centre from the north, east and west through the Dwarka expressway and the Urban Extension Road-II. To be able to navigate and handle the surge in traffic during major events, an interchange has been proposed on the Dwarka Expressway.
