New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the world-class convention centre in Dwarka called “YashoBhoomi” on his 73rd birthday this Sunday.
Formally called the International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC), the government’s ambitious project is spread over 221 acres and will have one of the world’s largest exhibition halls.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced Friday that Modi would also open the metro station inside IICC – the Dwarka Sector 25 station – which will link the complex with the Delhi Airport Metro Express.
Trains on this line will run at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour – the maximum so far – and will significantly reduce the travel time between the New Delhi metro station and the IICC.
The PMO statement read: “YashoBhoomi (IICC) will also be connected to Delhi Airport Metro Express line with the inauguration of the new metro station at Dwarka Sector 25. Delhi Metro will also increase the operational speed of Metro trains on Airport Express Line from 90 to 120 km/hr reducing the travel time. The total journey from New Delhi to YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 will take about 21 minutes.”
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials said trains on the Airport Express Line have run at a speed of 90 kilometre per hour since their inception in February 2011 – though it has the capacity for the maximum 120.
When asked about safety measures put in place to achieve this speed, Anuj Dayal, Principal Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said, “Whenever any such measure is taken, there are detailed protocols in place and approval by the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) is mandatory. The CMRS approval for operating the trains at 120 kilometres per hour was received earlier this month.”
Earlier this year, DMRC began trials to operate trains at a higher speed. In the past few months, metro officials said, trains were running at a speed of 110 kmph.
Trains till now terminated at the Dwarka Sector 21 metro station. With the new one, there will be seven stops on the entire line.
At present, it takes around 20 minutes to travel between the IGI airport and New Delhi metro station, which is set to lessen by three minutes, Dayal said.
‘IICC will have one of world’s largest exhibition halls’
Modi laid the foundation of the Rs 25,700-crore IICC project on 19 September, 2018. It is spread over 221 acres in Dwarka Sector 25.
The PMO statement further read: “With a total project area of over 8.9 lakh square metre and total built up area of more than 1.8 lakh square metre, YashoBhoomi will find its place among the world’s largest MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) facilities.”
The centre, spread over 73,000 square metres, has 15 convention rooms, including a main auditorium, the grand ballroom and 13 meeting rooms. It can accommodate 11,000 people.
“The Convention centre has the largest LED media facade in the country. The main auditorium is the plenary hall for the Convention Centre and is equipped with a seating capacity of around 6,000 guests. The auditorium has one of the most innovative automated seating systems which allows the floor to be a flat floor or an auditorium style tiered seating for different seating configurations,” the statement said.
The ballroom has a capacity of 2,500 guests which can be extended to accommodate 500 more.
“YashoBhoomi also offers one of the largest Exhibition halls in the world. These Exhibition halls, built across over 1.07 lakh square metres, will be utilised for hosting exhibitions, trade fairs, and business events, (and) are connected to a grand foyer space,” the PMO said.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)