Mayor Patricia de Lille last week declared the expansion of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, CTICC 2, “ready to welcome the world”.
Ms De Lille conducted a final site inspection of the expansion with CTICC chief executive officer, Julie-May Ellingson, to give her final seal of approval of the construction of the expansion before contractors hand over the building for occupation.
The inspection included a tour of the main conference and exhibition halls, meeting pod rooms, and the facility’s extensive back-of-house areas.
These include the control room, building management system as well as the facility’s hot, cold and pastry kitchens. Ms De Lille also viewed the centre’s open-air rooftop terrace, which boasts views of the city and Table Mountain.
The City contributed R550 million towards the expansion costs.
“In July 2014, I broke the first ground at the construction site. Now, in September 2017, we are standing in the impressive, light-filled reception hall of CTICC 2. This has been a long journey, but it’s only through focused and visionary leadership by the City and its partners that we can welcome even larger events and conferences to our shores and take this city to greater heights. Today I’m even more proud to say that the CTICC is indeed a key driver of our efforts to position Cape Town as a forward-looking, globally competitive business city,” said Ms De Lille.
CTICC 2 is a modern expansion of the original building, which will now be known as CTICC 1.
The 31 148m2 expansion adds 10 000m2 of multi-purpose conference and exhibition space through six halls located across two floors.
The facility also includes 3 000m2 of informal and formal meeting space in the form of four larger meeting suites, a terrace room, and five smaller meeting pod rooms. The new centre is built across six floors and has more exterior balconies.
CTICC 2 will also be able to operate as an independent facility.
Its design received a 4-star Green Star rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa.
Mayor De Lille said CTICC 2 is at the heart of the City’s mixed-use Foreshore Freeway Precinct project and will bring new opportunities to the area. “At one level, the expansion will enliven this very area, but more importantly it will continue to create jobs and provide a community hub that will make progress possible for the CBD and the city as a whole.”
Ms Ellingson, who oversaw the construction process, said: “The City of Cape Town has been the driving force behind making CTICC 2 possible. The City and its partners recognised the importance of an expanded CTICC more than a decade ago. It’s only through their committed support that we could steer a complicated construction process so successfully and I wish to personally thank the mayor for her encouragement and ongoing support.”
The centre will host its first event, the 21st annual Congress of the Council of Shopping Centres this week. And while the new centre will host its first events over the coming months, contractors will complete the multi-faceted marshalling yard, roadworks around the centre, and add finishing touches to the building.
Construction of the sky bridge across the Heerengracht connecting CTICC 1 with CTICC 2 will commence in 2018.
“The CTICC has been a key driver of the region’s knowledge economy, a place where ideas are shared, investments planned, a platform for creativity and innovation and a stage where South Africans and Africans can take part in the co-creation of future scientific, technological and academic advances.
“CTICC 2 will no doubt bolster the centre’s credentials as a positive contributor to Cape Town and the Western Cape’s socio-economic growth,” said Ms Ellingson.
