Chinese government to officially hand over convention centre

The new International Convention Centre located at Waigani in Port Moresby will be officially launched and handed over to Papua New Guinea government this month.

The Chinese Government will hand over the facility on Sept 27 during the Lukim PNG tourism conference.

Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Tobias Kulang announced that the event will commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the PNG and China bilateral ties.

Kulang said the bilateral tie with China was signed in 1976 and 40 years on, the relationship has deepened and strengthened.   

The centre was first used when hosting the APEC 42nd Transportation Working Group (TPTWG-42) meeting in April with over 200 participants from 21 countries.

The facility has over 10 conference rooms including a main auditorium, a range of smaller break-out meeting rooms, a 700-seat theatre and a formal dining area. It can cater for 7000 people at one time.

The project has been delivered as a friendship venture between the governments of China and Papua New Guinea and is expected to be formally opened in the coming months.

The centre will host APEC and other national events.

APEC PNG 2018 Co-ordination Authority chief executive officer Christopher Hawkins said previously that the facility will host many APEC events as we move towards 2018.

Hawkins confirmed that the centre will host around 200 meetings in total leading up to 2018, most of which are in 2018.

Author: 
Quintina Naime