Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Rs 5,400 crore first phase of the India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC) project, named as “Yashobhoomi”, in Dwarka and the extension of Delhi Airport Metro Express line from Dwarka Sector 21 to a new metro station at Dwarka Sector 2 on Sunday.
This ambitious endeavor aligns with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of providing India with world-class infrastructure to host meetings, conferences, and exhibitions on a global scale. The first phase is built on nearly 8.9 lakh square metres with a built-up area of over 1.8 lakh square metres. The project is being touted as the world’s largest Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) facility.
Its convention centre, built across more than 73,000 square metres of area, comprises 15 convention rooms including the main auditorium, the grand ballroom and 13 meeting rooms with a total capacity of holding 11,000 delegates, the statement said. The convention centre has the largest LED media facade in the country. The plenary hall in the centre is equipped with a seating capacity of around 6,000 guests.
The grand ballroom, with a unique petal ceiling, can host around 2,500 guests. It also has an extended open area that can seat up to 500 people. The 13 meeting rooms that are spread across eight floors are envisaged to hold a variety of meetings of different scales, the statement added.
Yashobhoomi also houses one of the largest exhibition halls in the world, it said. The exhibition halls, built across over 107,000 square metres, will be utilised for hosting exhibitions, trade fairs, and business events, and are connected to a grand foyer space which is uniquely designed with copper ceiling which filters light in the space through the various skylights, it added.
The venue is equipped with high-tech security provisions to ensure safety for the visitors. The underground car parking facility for over 3,000 cars is also equipped with more than 100 electric charging points.
It will also be connected to Delhi Airport Metro Express line with the inauguration of the new metro station ‘Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector 25’, the statement said.
The new metro station will have three subways — a 735m long subway connecting the station to the exhibition halls, convention centre, and central arena; another connecting the entry/exit across Dwarka expressway; while third one connecting the metro station to the foyer of the future exhibition halls of Yashobhoomi, the statement said. According to Delhi Metro, passenger operations on this new extension will be started from 3 pm onwards on the same day, that is, Sunday, September 17.
With the addition of this section, the total length of the Airport Express Line from New Delhi to Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector-25 will become 24.9 km. Currently services on the Airport Line are available till the Dwarka Sector-21 metro station, which is also an interchange point between the Airport Line and the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro.
In addition to serving the convention centre, this new station will also provide metro connectivity to residents around sector 25 of Dwarka and new sectors along Dwarka Expressway in neighbouring Gurugram. As a result, residents of these areas will be able to reach central Delhi in about half an hour.
Sources said that all route maps and screen displays at the new station, which was earlier named ‘IICC Dwarka Sector-25’, will now reflect the name ‘Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector-25’. The Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector-25 station has been constructed underground using conventional cut-and-cover technology, the statement said.
“The 2.008 kilometre-long tunnel connecting the Dwarka Sector 21 station with the new station has also been constructed using the cut-and-cover technology apart from an 82.43 metre stretch below the Urban Extension Road-II which was built using the box-pushing method. For the first time in Delhi Metro, the box-pushing method was used to construct a metro tunnel. Earlier, this technology had only been used to construct pedestrian subways,” the DMRC added.