Construction of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) East Expansion (CTICC2) is on track with the first event set to take place in September.

According to Julie-May Ellingson, CTICC CEO, the construction is expected to be completed no later than June, with the building becoming operational shortly after. “The new facility has already received the support of key international associations,” said Ellingson. “The first major event, the Global Evidence Summit will take place in the venue in September, highlighting and promoting evidence-informed approaches to health policy and development.”

In March 2018,  the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health will be held in the expansion and in 2020 the World Ophthalmology Congress is set to attract 15 000 delegates to Cape Town occupying both CTICC buildings. The18th International Congress of Immunology will also make use of the new building for their event in August 2022.

According to Ellingson the expansion will provide an additional 31 148 sqm of space to the existing CTICC.

“More specifically it will add some 10 000 sqm of multi-purpose conference and exhibition space and 3 000 sqm of formal and informal meeting space.  It will include a new coffee shop, a number of smaller meeting rooms and large informal meeting areas,” she said.

All in all, the expansion adds 28% more space to the centre, bringing it to a total of 140 855 sqm.

“This will allow the CTICC to host much larger events and it will also increase the number of events we can host concurrently,” she told Tourism Update. “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the CTICC has played a major role in boosting Cape Town’s reputation as a business events destination.”

A total of R832 million (€60 million) has been invested in the expansion project by the CTICC, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government.

“Competition is fierce. New convention centres are opening up across the world as cities and regions seek to capitalise on the potential economic benefits from business tourism. CTICC 2 is of strategic value to the investors as it will help to raise the global competitiveness of Cape Town as a premier world-class meetings and events destination in order to secure significant socio-economic benefits to the region,” said Ellingson.

With a vision to be one of the world’s top ten leading long-haul international convention centres by 2020, Ellingson and her team are working hard to populate a strong forward book of future events for the new facility.

“Since its opening, the CTICC has proved itself to be a valuable contributor to the sustainable growth and development of Cape Town, the Western Cape and South Africa as a whole. The CTICC injected more than R32.5bn (€2.3bn) into the national gross domestic product and R28.8bn (€2bn) into the Western Cape gross geographic product in the past financial year alone,” she said.

It is anticipated that the expansion will increase these figures.

“Our immediate goal is to ensure both facilities run at full capacity and that there is a strong return on investment in the expansion project,” said Ellingson.