Valencia Conference Centre to self-finance its 2014 extension

EUROPE – The Valencia Conference Centre has announced its €24m (US$32m) extension plans, which the venue says can be self-financed and will finish by 2014.
 
The extension project will involve the construction of a separate building adjacent to the existing venue. The centre hopes the new complex will also be a benchmark for sustainability featuring 14,000sqm in photovoltaic roof panels. These will generate approximately 600,000kWh of clean energy every year, thus avoiding the emission of 465,000kg of CO2.
 
The Norman Foster extension design will involve the construction of a separate two-floor building made up of multi-purpose spaces. The new venue will have plenary rooms for meetings of up to 2,500 people, as well as a maximum of 20 breakout rooms.
 
The centre says it needs to reinvent itself and strengthen its international position by increasing its capacity so it can hold larger events.
 
“The Valencia Conference Centre is one of the main focal points for attracting tourists to the city,” said City Mayor Rita Barberá. “The extension is a challenge in the current economic climate, but it is vital for Valencia to keep moving forward, just as it did with the construction of the conference centre 13 years ago.”
 
The presentation of the plans was attended by the city’s Deputy Mayor; Chairman of the Valencia Conference Centre’s Board of Directors, Alfonso Grau; the venue’s CEO, Jose Salinas; as well as representatives from the Foster+Partners architecture studio; and personalities from the local event tourism market.
 
“The number of foreign visitors has increased four-fold in the last four years, and the venue has hosted over 60 per cent of the major international congresses held in the city in the last decade,” Salinas said. “In addition, Valencia leads the Spanish conference centre ranking in the number of national congresses held in the last three years, with a 70 per cent share of the market.”
 
Valencia is the fastest-growing Spanish city in terms of European congress visitors and the city currently stands 10th on the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) rankings of non-capital congress cities.
 
If the existing building’s activities are also taken into account, an annual figure of 150,000 overnight stays may well be reached, says Salinas, generating a direct and indirect impact of around €100m per year.
 
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