ADNEC looks to score with "that something extra"
Adequate capacity in the emirate: The Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company is building a new exhibition centre - carefully thought out right down to the soft skills - between the city and airport.
The intention is to have quality trade fairs raise Abu Dhabi's international awareness level even further. They are to attract investment and new industries and give the business travel sector a shot in the arm. "To accommodate events of this kind, we need new, first-rate exhibition capacities," His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of ADNEC, the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre, says. Abu Dhabi is booming and looking to build up and expand business sectors, with trade shows and congresses in their wake. At a press conference on April 29, 2006 in Abu Dhabi, officials said that with construction of the new exhibition centre the government was addressing "the dramatic surge in exhibitor and visitor demand".
The powers that be are confident of filling the halls quickly. The exhibition centre will comprise altogether 57,000 m2. 21,000 m2 are earmarked as exhibition space and 7,500 m2 for a multipurpose hall. Thirty extremely flexible conference rooms will be available for meetings with up to 1,200 delegates. The halls are arranged in a U-shape around a landscaped plaza, where outdoor events can also be held. The iconic feature of the complex will be the tower curving above the centre and looking out to sea, in which all the offices will be housed.
A new approach to exhibition business and its innovative implementation will give the hardware in the new ADNEC that certain something: "Guests will enjoy the highest level of customer care and support. It is the goal of the management to provide an experience that reflects the standard of the new venue," Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan insists.
The ADNEC will no longer organise exhibitions of its own. "We are creating an environment in Abu Dhabi in which international organisers can invest and launch new fairs with complete confidence in us," Simon Horgan, Chief Executive Officer of the new complex, says. Many international organisers have already promised their cooperation, he adds. The first stage of the construction project has got off to a good start. Speedy completion of the halls, office building and car parks is scheduled by December 2006. The international defence exhibition and conference IDEX is slated to take place from February 18 to 22, 2007 in the new facility.
m+a report Nr.4 / 2006 vom 15.06.2006
m+a report vom 15. Juni 2006