Indonesia’s government, with a strong emphasis on promoting trade and business, is building a massive exhibition centre to attract high-spending Mice traffic to the country.
The gigantic state-of-the-art exhibition and convention centre will be located in the heart of the capital and called the Jakarta International Exhibition and Convention Centre (JIECC). The new greenfield project is being looked upon as a vehicle to put Indonesia on the 'world Mice map,' as country’s tourism experts told TTN.
Indonesia’s tourism strategists hope that by making the country a popular Mice destination they can attract high-spending Mice traffic and provide a strong impetus to the country’s economy. Mice tourists, according to Indonesia’s tourism experts, tend to spend more and generally have a much wider spill-over effect on several segments of the economy.
But Indonesia’s neighbours are wondering how this project would affect their own business, with convention centres in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore keenly watching the development of what they describe as the 'new kid on Southeast Asia’s block.'
However, not everyone in the exhibition and convention business seems unduly perturbed by this development. John Lee, a Singapore-based management consultant who provides consultancy services to the business travel sector, said that the JIECC will only enrich and add to the exhibition and convention assets in Southeast Asia.
'The arrival of the new kid on the block should not cause any unease amongst the existing venues which are already well established in their specific fields,' said Lee. Peter Brokenshire, the general manager of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), was equally unperturbed by the possible threat of competition from the Jakarta International Exhibition and Convention Centre. 'We are in the convention business. The Jakarta venue will, probably, also concentrate on the exhibition business. So, it hardly affects us,' Brokenshire said. The KLCC, according to Brokenshire, has had a tremendous response from international associations and has successfully attracted major international associations to hold their conventions in Kuala Lumpur.
Indra Sukirno, the executive director and chief executive of the Jakarta Convention and Exhibition Bureau, which reports to the Jakarta City Council, said that Indonesia had felt the need to have a modern and spacious venue because of the high-level meetings and exhibitions taking place in the country.
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Sukirno |
'Indonesia’s economy grew strongly by 6.2 per cent last year and we expect the international business community to show keen interest in Indonesia. The JIECC will become an important vehicle to promote international trade and business,' she said, adding that her office is the only bureau that officially promotes Mice business.
The JIECC, she said, would be used for conventions, exhibitions, sports and entertainment events. 'We will organise business-to-consumer exhibitions, but we will switch to industry-specific events that focus, for example, on handicrafts, furniture, agriculture, car production, etc. Indonesia already has its own International Motor Show which is steadily drawing international attendance,' Sukirno claimed.
In fact, Indonesia already has a motor show which attracts an international audience, said Sukirno. Lilia Sukotjo, the marketing director of PT Alam Sutera Realty TBK, a property developer that is developing the JIECC, said that the venue will encompass a total area of 20 hectares. The exhibition hall would cover an area of 60,000 sq m while the huge ballroom, about 6,000 sq m, can be divided into three sections.
Sukotjo said that the entire funding of the project would come from the developer’s own sources. 'But, we may also borrow from the banks,' she added.
The work on this greenfield project is expected to start this month and venue should be completed by October 2014, according to Sukotjo. The venue will also become popular and easily accessible once a third road – now under construction – leading to it is completed.
Designed by Larry Oltmanns, who also fashioned the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the JIECC will surpass the largest venues in Indonesia by nearly 30 per cent once Phase 1 is completed in October 2014. When Phase 2 is finished in 2017, it will be one of the largest venues in Asia.
By Manik Mehta