Eight years after it was first conceived, the work on the mega exhibition and convention centre — India International Convention & Expo Centre (IICC) — will finally commence from Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art convention centre in Dwarka on  the lines of the ones in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore for hosting exhibitions, trade fairs and summits of international standards.

The project is planned over an area of 221.37 acres (over 90 hectares or 10.7 lakh square km) in Sector 25, Dwarka, at an estimated cost of Rs.25,703 crores. It is connected through Dwarka Expressway and Urban Extension Road II and is about 11 kms from the Delhi International Airport. The project was first mooted in 2010 but was stuck due to delay in transfer of land from DDA.

 IICC at Dwarka will be an integrated complex with facilities like exhibition halls, convention centre, open exhibition spaces, mixed use commercial spaces like star hotels (5, 4 and 3 star), retail services and high-end offices. The convention centre can accommodate 11,000 persons, 5 exhibition halls, 1-kilometre long foyer, multi-purpose arena with retractable roof.