India International Convention and Exhibition Center (IICC) Opens on 17th... Kintex Operates for 20 Years

Exterior view of the India International Convention and Exhibition Centre (IICC)

The India International Exhibition and Convention Centre (IICC), constructed by the Indian government and operated by Kintex, an institution under Gyeonggi Province, officially opened on the 17th (local time) in New Delhi, the capital of India, after more than five years of construction. Gyeonggi Province formed a delegation along with Goyang City and sent representatives to the site to celebrate the opening.

With an exhibition area of 300,000 square meters, the India International Exhibition and Convention Centre (IICC) is 6.25 times larger than COEX and ranks as the 5th largest exhibition and convention center in Asia (1st in Asia excluding China). Kintex will operate the center for the next 20 years.

Kintex secured the operating rights for at least 20 years through a public bidding process in 2018, jointly with Isang Networks, the only listed exhibition organizer company in Korea.

This was the first overseas expansion case for Korea’s exhibition industry, which was ranked outside the top 40 globally, and it attracted attention at the time as an achievement gained through competition with world-renowned exhibition operators from France, Hong Kong, and other countries.

The IICC is a core MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) project into which the Indian government invested a total construction cost of 4 trillion won, and it is a key initiative of current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In particular, Prime Minister Modi is known to have a special interest in the IICC, having personally laid the cornerstone at the groundbreaking ceremony in September 2018, and he also presided over the opening ceremony on this day.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon made a special effort by visiting India directly in July to check the opening preparations and met with the president of the Indian Exhibition Association and other major economic organizations as well as the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry to pledge cooperation for the successful opening and operation of the IICC.

Upon opening, the IICC successfully attracted multiple large international events, including the largest plastic industry exhibition in South Asia (70,000 square meters) and the India MICE Business Tourism Convention (25,000 square meters), brightening its prospects.

Gyeonggi Province views India as a strategic export market and plans to pioneer overseas sales channels centered on ASEAN and South Asia through the newly established Bengaluru Gyeonggi Business Center, opening later this year, and the IICC.

Lee Min-woo, Director of Investment and Trade at Gyeonggi Province, said, "This achievement, where the exhibition and convention operation know-how accumulated by Kintex through the joint efforts of Gyeonggi Province, Goyang City, and KOTRA was recognized by a foreign government for the first time and led to exports, is significant." He added, "We will continue to strive to make the IICC a catalyst for promoting not only the exhibition and convention industry but also the overseas expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises in Gyeonggi Province."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.