The Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) on Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard in Phu My Hung new urban town in District 7, a 20-minute drive from the city's downtown, will serve as an international standard venue for huge goods exhibitions, trade shows and conventions.

This is a 60:40 joint venture between Saigontourist Holding Company and property developer Phu My Hung Corporation.

Speaking at the grand opening ceremony, Nguyen Huu Tho, general director of Saigontourist Holding Company, said the joint venture had invested some US$30 million in the project's phase one including a 10,000-square-meter exhibition hall, a conference room for around 500 people, four small meeting rooms and an outdoor area for car parking, amongothers. As planned, SECC will have a total of four such exhibition halls.

SECC is part of the broader project thatwill require a total of US$300 million to develop a five-star hotel of 600 rooms, a four-star hotel of 400rooms, and a conference hall with 2,000 seats and a 38-level office building on 117,600 square meters, Tho said.

He added SECC had got off to a good start since its soft opening in late October last year, and that six major exhibitions were organized in the last two months of last year, attracting 56,000 exhibition visitors, 20% of them foreigners.

Tho highlighted the important role of the project, saying it would not only provide facilities for exhibition, meeting, accommodation and office space, but also facilitate the development of tourism, especially MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events).

Tran Van Hau, managing director of Saigon Exhibition and Convention Joint Venture Co, told the Daily yesterday that the center had received 30 inquiries for space to organize trade shows and other international events this year, with most of tenants being foreign organizers represented by local partners.

However, the global economic recession has forced many of the companies to either trim spending or reduce space, he said, and there are just 26 orgariizers confirming their plans to organize their events at the center.

Work on the next phase is expected to begin next year, but when the whole project is completed remains unknown given the woes brought by the global recession, he said.

Hau said the rent for the entire exhibition hall was US$150,000 per event, and US$80,000 for half the facility.

Previously the HCMC International Exhibition and Convention Center (HIECC) was the city's only fairground large enough to accommodate international trade shows and exhibitions, but it was still small by international standard. Its total space is about 7,000 square meters.

Source: Saigon Times