International Convention Centre to place Bangalore in hall of fame

The State cabinet on Thursday approved development of an International Convention Centre (ICC) near the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) at a cost of Rs 250 crore, 50 per cent of which is to be funded through budgetary support and the remaining amount will be raised from KIADB.
The proposal for such a centre was made as early as 2007 by the Department of Tourism. Going by that, the ICC, with a capacity to hold 6,000 people, will be built on 35 acres and is aimed at promoting Bangalore as an attractive destination for huge international meets and exhibitions. The government is targeting completion of core components of the project (the convention hall, meeting rooms, exhibition hall and food court) before June next year to host the next edition of the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) there. There will be 20 meeting rooms with seating capacities varying from 50 to 250 and an exhibition hall with a minimum area of 20,000 sq mt. “Given the infrastructure woes during the previous edition of GIM, we want to have all facilities like food courts and hotels at one place,” an official told Deccan Herald. The ICC is expected to beat competition from Hyderabad and Ahmedabad in hosting international conferences and cashing in on high-profile investors. The Cabinet, in its note, a copy of which is in possession of Deccan Herald, said “Bangalore lacks facilities to attract international and national conferences. Hyderabad, after the opening of the International Convention Centre there, has become the preferred centre”. The note says: “It is necessary to provide other supporting infrastructure such as star hotels, service apartments and theme parks. It is proposed that this be developed through a PPP model.” There is also clearance for any additional land that would be required, besides the 35 acres to be acquired. EC set up Further, the cabinet has proposed to set up an Empowered Committee to oversee the project. The committee will comprise the Chief Secretary (Chairman), Principal Secretary to the Department of Infrastructure Development (Convener), Principal Secretary, Finance, Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Metropolitan Commissioner, BMRDA, Secretary, Law Department and executive member, KIADB.