Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre's new 'Zabeel Hall' on track for September opening

The new hall was officially named as the "Zabeel Hall" following the ceremony.

DWTC Director General Helal Saeed Al Marri and DWTC Board Member Abdulla Mohammed Rafia laid the foundation stone for the project and congratulated the construction companies involved on the work completed to date. Tariq Khansaheb, Member of the Board of Directors, represented the construction company Khansaheb at the ceremony.

The Zabeel Hall - which will add 15,000 square metres of exhibition space to DICEC, increasing the available space by 30 percent - is set to open in September 2006, providing significant additional capacity for conventions and exhibitions in Dubai, and enabling the centre to welcome more companies from around the world.

As part of the development process, DICEC ordered the development of the steel infrastructure and externals in 2005, ahead of the initial work on the foundations, to ensure completion of the project in time for the busy autumn exhibition season.

"Dubai World Trade Centre is proud to follow the far-sighted directive of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Minister for Finance and Industry, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), to construct the new Zabeel Hall, which is destined to play an important role in the future development of the MICE industry in the UAE and wider region,"

said DWTC Director General Helal Saeed Al Marri.

"The new exhibition hall will provide a world-class facility that will enable DICEC to both attract new business and expand the capacity and facilities offered to existing events at the centre," he added.

Alongside the new exhibition hall, the development will also create an additional 1,500 spaces on land adjacent to the main DICEC complex.

"We're pleased that the project is running to schedule and we will be able to support expanded exhibitions and conventions from September 2006 onwards. Everything about the development process has been designed to minimize inconvenience in the short-term and maximise business opportunity in the long-term for our partners and tenants," he added.

The construction of the exhibition hall is the first phase of a longer-term plan involving a major redevelopment and enhancement of the present DICEC complex to include a state-of-the-art convention centre, office and residential towers, hotels and hotel apartments and shopping facilities. The cost of the project will be AED 16 billion.