The Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) has announced, 27 October, the launch of its plan to expand the facilities and infrastructure of the group’s centres in Abu Dhabi and London. The group said its expansion plans were designed to boost ADNEC’s competitiveness and ability to attract major international events for all sectors.
The development operations at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre include building the largest exhibition hall in the Middle East and North Africa region with an overall area of 10,000 sqm. This will be located at the Marina across from the Centre and will be the first of its kind in the region to be located on a waterfront.
Development will commence for the area across from the Grand Platform at the centre, which will add over 10,000 sqm by enhancing areas for outdoor activities, thereby raising the total outdoor space for exhibitions at this area by 70% to reach 24,000 sqm.
Expansion and development work at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre will increase the overall interior space for exhibitions by 12% to reach 92,000 sqm, while the overall outdoor space for exhibitions will exceed 59,000 sqm, increasing the overall area of Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre by 7% to over 151,000sqm.
Development work for the ExCeL London centre in the UK which is owned fully by ADNEC, will include beginning the third stage of expanding its facilities. This involves adding 25,000sqm of space for exhibitions, establishing new halls for meeting and conferences, and adding several services facilities across three floors, which will increase the centre’s overall space by 25%.
Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, managing director and group CEO at ADNEC, said: “The new expansion of the group’s assets in Abu Dhabi and London affirms the increasing importance of the business and leisure tourism sectors. These industries are key in advancing the next stage for both countries’ economies, as they help diversify sources of income and strengthen the main sustainable contributors to it.”
Al Dhaheri added: “ADNEC’s strategy is based on the principles of turning challenges into opportunities, and this is what the company’s team has done by emphasising the readiness of the group’s centres to lead the stage of recovery. We have moved on from the exceptional circumstances that have affected the world by providing an advanced infrastructure with the necessary flexibility to welcome people from across the globe once more to our centres in a safe and reliable business environment. This approach is in line with the vision and aspirations of our wise leadership and will continue to be so for the next 50 years.
“It the development supports sustainable development in the UAE and Britain, leading to transferring and localising advanced technologies in both countries.”
Jeremy Rees, CEO at ExCeL London, said “This expansion of ExCeL London confirms ADNEC’s commitment to boosting the centre’s competitiveness and its ability to provide services to partners according to the highest international standards. It will contribute to supporting the efforts to enhance the position of London and the Royal Docks district as a preferred destination for hosting leading global events.”
The current and future expansion plans will not impact operations and the hosting of events at these centres.
Work on the waterfront in Abu Dhabi will begin at the end of October 2021 and is expected to last for 12 months, with the new hall opening scheduled for October 2022. Work on the Grand Platform will begin March 2022 and will last for nine months which will be followed by its inauguration in November 2022. Work on the expansion of ExCeL London will begin early next year and will conclude in early 2024.
