Expanded space, bigger fairs, more visitors (hktdc.com)


	HKTDC Chairman Peter Woo at the inauguration of the US$179 million expansion project at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre

A new phase adding 40 per cent more exhibition space in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) was inaugurated at a formal ceremony by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Chairman (HKTDC) Peter Woo.

The US$179 million expansion project which began in mid-2006 is scheduled for completion by early 2008. It will create 40 per cent more exhibition space or an additional 19,400 square metres to the premier exhibition venue located in the spectacular Wanchai waterfront.

Mr Woo noted that the expanded HKCEC would enable at least five of Hong Kong’s leading fairs - electronics, gifts, toys, jewellery and lighting shows – to grow, with each having the potential to become the largest of its kind in the world. In the first year of operation, the expansion is expected to add 76,500 more exhibition-related visitors.

Financed independently by the HKTDC, the expansion will be achieved without reclamation and almost entirely within the HKCEC’s existing space.

Growing regional competition

Mr Woo emphasised that the expansion project is only an interim measure to respond to unmet demand and growing regional competition from Macau, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. “Any international trade fair must be at least 100,000 square metres to attain the necessary critical mass to survive,” said Mr Woo.

Upon completion of the expansion, the HKCEC’s total exhibition area will be 65,000 square metres, still considerably under the desired 100,000 square metres. "If you are not able to join the 100,000 square metre club, you will probably be out of the competition,” said Mr Woo who added that Hong Kong enjoyed a “first mover advantage".

Hong Kong's exhibition industry is facing increasing competition from neighbouring cities, where more than 900,000 square metres of exhibition and convention facilities have come on stream in the past three years.

The HKTDC is examining the possibility of expanding the HKCEC further, and plans to develop a proposal for discussion with the government. "We know that there is still a long way to go before another expansion plan can be realised," said Mr Woo. "This is a matter that calls for the wisdom of the HKTDC, the community, the industries and the government to work together and find an acceptable way to move forward."

The inauguration ceremony was followed by the installation of a steel structure stretching 100 metres across the two sides of the channel. The longest of its kind ever used for a building in Hong Kong, the structure, supported by bearings, will connect the two phases of the HKCEC.