A consortium led by a leading South Korean exhibition organiser, eSang Networks, has won a bid to operate the India International Convention and Exhibition Center (IICC) in New Delhi for 20 years, paving the way for Korean CC operators into overseas markets.
The company said on 23 July that its consortium with KINTEX CC – the operator of Korea’s largest CC – that is located in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province near Seoul, was picked as a final winner in a bid for operation of the IICC by the Indian government. The news comes four months after the company formed the consortium with KINTEX to bid for the project.
After winning the final bid, the consortium will become the first operator of a foreign exhibition center among domestic convention management and operating firms.
Last week, the two firms (IICC and KINTEX) set up a local subsidiary – Kinexin Convention Management – that will be in charge of running the center for 20 years starting 2020. Expanding the IICC to 300,000sqm falls under the first phase of construction that is aimed at building a 60,000sqm exhibition hall and conference room of the same size by the end of next year. The second stage will see completion of the construction of the remaining area (180,000sqm).
India is the seventh largest economy in the world and has been emerging as one of the major economic centers in Asia; New Delhi, the capital, is the heart of the country’s politics, economy and culture, and has abundant demand for exhibitions.
Economic Times India reported in 2017 that “India is likely to clock the fastest growth in this segment in the next five years…” The IICC could serve as a gateway for Korean companies who seek to enter India and the broader Southwest Asia by holding events at the venue, located just 10 km away from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. Subway lines, railways and highways will be added at the surrounding area by 2020, increasing accessibility.
“India will become the fifth Asian country to have an international convention center bigger than 100,000sqm following China, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea,” said an official from eSang Networks, who added: “The IICC will become the fourth largest exhibition center in Asia.”