New Zhuhai exhibition centre ‘complements’ Macau

After almost four years of construction, the Zhuhai International Convention & Exhibition Center (Zhuhai CEC), developed by the state-owned Zhuhai enterprise Huafa Group, has recently commenced a long-awaited trial run, on October 30. It has already hosted several exhibitions and conventions since September.
Zhuhai CEC is located at the Wanzai section of the Shizimen Central Business District in Zhuhai. It is very close to the Wanzai Port and is only 10 minutes away from Gongbei Port by car. In fact, it is clearly visible from the Macau side, especially in the southwestern parts, such as Sai Van and the area near the Macau Tower.
The venue occupies 269,000 square meters with a total investment input of RMB6.9 billion. It is a collection of exhibition and convention facilities, an opera theater, concert hall and hotels, and can host different types of events including banquets, concerts and carnivals.
In a media tour yesterday, Doris Wan, the public relations executive of Zhuhai CEC, said that the establishment of the center has ended Zhuhai’s long-term drought of professional exhibition venues. The fact that the Zhuhai CEC houses several different facilities, Ms Wan suggested, is very rare in southern China as well.
Despite the fact that the center is in close proximity to Macau and has strengthened Zhuhai’s competitiveness in terms of hosting meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition (MICE) events, Doris Wan still believes that the two cities are not in competition, but in a complementary relationship, in which both parties will be able to supplement each other. “After all, Macau is limited in terms of the venues and human resources [for MICE],” she said.
The exhibition and convention facilities, opera theater and concert hall have already opened. The Zhuhai CEC exhibition centre has a net exhibiting area of 30,000 square meters that can be divided into six exhibition halls, housing a total of 1,600 exhibition booths. Huafa also invited the managing company of the China National Convention Centre to co-manage the facility. Ms Wan said that Zhuhai CEC would mainly focus on hosting feature and professional exhibitions.
The Zhuhai CEC convention centre is also co-managed by Huafa and the National Convention Centre’s managing company. It includes a 4,500 square meter grand convention hall, a 2,000 square meter multi-function hall, a 1,200-seat opera theater and an 800-seat concert hall. The facilities are capable of receiving a total of nearly 10,000 people.
Doris Wan especially mentioned that the convention hall is also suitable for wedding banquets. “We want to smash Zhuhai people’s perception that convention centers are not for wedding banquets,” she said. Ms Wan pointed out that the Zhuhai CEC has its own kitchen capable of catering for round-table banquets of up to 6,000 pax. This, she said, also sets Zhuhai CEC apart from other similar venues in Guangdong province.
The accommodation facilities in the Zhuhai CEC – the Zhuhai Huafa Sheraton Hotel, the St Regis Zhuhai Hotel and the Zhuhai Huafa Apartment – are still under construction, with the Huafa Sheraton Hotel set to open in December. With a total floor area of 66,000 square meters, the Zhuhai Huafa Sheraton will provide 550 hotel rooms and suites.
As for the St Regis Zhuhai Hotel, it will occupy the 37th to the 65th floor of the Zhuhai International Business Centre Building and is expected to provide 250 rooms. Standing at over 300 meters tall, it will be the tallest building in both Zhuhai and Macau upon completion. It is predicted that the construction will reach 200 meters at the end of this year, and the building will open in 2016.