Delhi’s Pragati Maidan may have a new convention center; likely to be eight times bigger than Vigyan Bhawan

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s prime exhibition venue Pragati Maidan may house a new convention centre that would be five to eight times bigger in capacity than Vigyan Bhavan, an official of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) said. According to plans being prepared by ITPO, the nodal government agency that organizes fairs in 149-acre prime area in Delhi, the convention centre will be a state-of-the-art infrastructure with a capacity of 5,000 to 8,000 people.

“It’s at a planning stage now. If things go according to our plans, the actual construction should begin in another two and half years. The idea is to create a world-class conventional centre so as to attract the global MICE market,” Rita Menon, a former Union secretary and ITPO’s current CMD said.

The MICE, the acronym for Meetings, Incentive, Conference and Exhibitions, is turning into a multi-billion dollar business, which is currently wooed by a handful of global hotspots like Milan, Frankfurt, Shanghai etc.

Currently, Pragati Maidan has small convention centers that can accommodate 750 guests.

The Vigyan Bhawan, which hosted iconic seminars and ceremonies including Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (1983), Non-Aligned Movement summit of 1983 and SAARC Summit among others, has a capacity of just over 1,000 in its main plenary hall. It has, however, six smaller halls too.

“Our big challenge now is that Pragati Maidan’s infrastructure is getting dated. But we are like any other organization in hospitality sector. After all, we have to provide pleasant ambiance for our visitors. And that requires a constant up-gradation of our facilities,” Menon said.