HYDERABAD: Fearing losing out on major events due to lack of space, the Hyderabad International Trade Expositions Limited (Hitex) is set to expand soon. It is a prominent place in the city for holding national and international conferences, exhibitions, corporate events, concerts and product launches.
During the board meeting of Hitex held recently, it was felt that the space needs immediate expansion of 10, 500 sq mt by constructing a new exhibition-cum-convention hall with ancillary and support infrastructure to serve the growing market requirement.
The new hall, with a proposed size of 8,080 sq mt and built-up area of 1.4 lakh sq ft, can be used for hosting national and international conferences and music concerts. For mid to long-term expansion, Hitex plans to add 20,000 to 40,000 sq mt. The move was necessitated after the management found that Hitex did not have enough space to hold big conferences or conventions, and major events were going to other cities like Bengaluru and Chennai.
Their decision was supported by the findings of a market study by Euro Asia Consulting (EAC), which found that there is a definite opportunity for the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry to grow above the GDP growth rate in the country in future. The study was constituted by Hitex. EAC found that the number of events of size smaller than 10,000 sq mt will reduce by about 50 per cent in the next decade.
Bigger is better
Expansion by 17.5 sq mt has also been proposed for Bangalore International Exhibition Center
Share of exhibition size up to 10,000 sq mt will reduce from 73% to 25% by 2026: EAC