India Expo Centre and Mart to build hotel, expand venue

THE INDIA Expo Centre and Mart (IECM) in Greater Noida, Delhi, India is planning to enter into a joint venture with the private sector to build a 400-key five-star hotel and grow its inventory of exhibition halls by 2015.

IECM is the largest conference and exhibition venue in Delhi, equipped with eight exhibition halls of 4,000m² each and several conference halls and meeting rooms. It has hosted several international events including the recent Conventions India Conclave and IT&CM India in August, and is gearing up for the Asian Development Bank general meeting, which will be attended by 5,000 international delegates, later this year.

The new hotel will augment the room inventory in the Greater Noida region, which is now supported by Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort, Radisson Blu Greater Noida Hotel, and several four-star properties. These properties, which sit within a 10- to 30-minute drive from IECM, offer a total of 2,700 rooms.

Chander Mansharamani, vice chairman of the India Convention Promotion Bureau, said: "IECM building a hotel on its premises is great news. This will make the venue more attractive for large MICE events due to increased room capacity (in the vicinity) and new F&B options."