PM Modi unveils venue for G20 leaders in New Delhi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the revamped India Trade Promotion Organisation complex on Wednesday, which will be the venue for G20 heads of state and other dignitaries at this year’s summit. New Delhi holds the rotating presidency of the bloc of 19 major economic powers and the European Union, slated to meet in the capital in September.

The complex, named the Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC), is under the jurisdiction of India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The center has a seating capacity of 7,000 people – exceeding that of Australia’s iconic Sydney Opera House. 

According to the Prime Minister’s office, the project cost for the refurbished venue, which comprises multiple facilities including the convention center, exhibition halls, and an amphitheater, and covers an area of approximately 123 acres, is estimated at 27 billion rupees ($330 million). “In terms of the covered space available for events, the IECC Complex finds its place among the top exhibition and convention complexes in the world,” the PM’s office said. 

It will be among the world’s top 10 exhibition and convention complexes, comparable to the Hannover Exhibition Centre in Germany and the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai. Pragati Maidan, New Delhi’s landmark exhibition venue, was initially developed to host the Railway Exhibition in 1952 to mark the centenary of railways in India. The complex significantly expanded by 1972, when New Delhi hosted the Asian International Trade Fair coinciding with the 25th anniversary of India’s independence from Britain. 

Since India assumed the G20 presidency in December 2022, more than 200 meetings have been announced at 55 locations across the country. Ahead of the leaders’ summit in the national capital in September 2023, around 26 departments of the Delhi government and central agencies have been engaged in upgrading civic infrastructure and beautification works in the capital.

Around 4.5 billion rupees will be spent by the Public Works Department, and 2.5 billion rupees by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for constructing and repairing roads and pavements, traffic islands, beautification along major road stretches, installation of LED lights and deploying electric buses for national and international visitors. 

“Delhi’s revamp has been planned on the lines of the UK, Singapore, Indonesia and Germany which have hosted the G20 summit and related events in the past,” a government official told Times of India earlier this year. The Indian government has allocated around 10 billion rupees towards India’s G20 presidency in the 2023-24 budget presented in February this year.