Expo centre to create 300 job opportunities in Bahrain

As many as 300 new jobs will be created once the new Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC) in Sakhir is running at full steam, it has emerged, as the momentum to further push and promote Bahrain across the world gathers pace.

Dr Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen, the general manager of the centre, revealed that the largest venue of its kind in the Middle East is set to open during the fourth quarter this year with a 100-strong team, comprised largely of Bahrainis.

“We will ramp up our team gradually to 300 members when the centre is running at full capacity,” she said.

Sitting on a total area of 309,000sqm, the landmark development is set to bolster Bahrain’s position as a leading business events hub internationally with a total built-up area of 149,000sqm.

Costing $221.7 million, the new BIECC, is being built by Cebarco Bahrain, which lists May 2022 as the project completion date on its website.

“With 95,000sqm of exhibition space over 10 halls, a 4,000-seat tiered auditorium, 95 meeting rooms, Royal and VIP majlis and a 250-seat restaurant, it can host a range of events from exhibitions and conventions to concerts, live events, weddings and seminars,” explained the new GM at a recent Bahrain British Business Forum (BBBF)’s monthly business networking meeting at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain Convention and Spa.

Dr Stanford-Kristiansen who has lived and worked in the Middle East for 17 years, including an eight-year stint in Bahrain, was appointed to the new role last September by ASM Global, after it won the bid as the managing operator for the new events venue.

She is ranked in the Top 30 Most Inspirational Women in the Arab World 2019 and Middle East Female CEO of the Year 2018, with a long and distinguished career in the tourism, exhibition, events and entertainment industries.

Excited at the prospect of attracting the world’s most prestigious exhibitions, conventions, entertainment, concerts and gala events to Bahrain, Dr Stanford-Kristiansen said, “I’m truly honoured to have been appointed as general manager of the new Bahrain IECC and to work closely with our owner; Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) to develop and grow the International MICE business.”

She also sees the job as an opportunity to create a long-term legacy for Bahrain and to help mentor, develop and build the talent and skill-sets of young Bahrainis for generations to come.

GDN reported last October that the 14th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition (GEO) and the Middle East Oil and Gas Show and Conference (MEOS) were announced as first major events taking place at the new venue on March 7-9, 2023.

The two co-located events are jointly organised by AAPG Middle East & Africa and Informa Markets, which also conducts the Autumn Fair, Bahrain’s biggest indoor shopping festival, and Jewellery Arabia, the largest jewellery and watch exhibition in the Middle East, in Bahrain every year.

It is believed that the two events may also eventually move to the new exhibition centre in Sakhir.

Dr Stanford-Kristiansen said that exhibitions, with the potential to attract larger audiences currently hosted at the smaller Sanabis exhibition centre, will relocate to the new venue.

The addition of the new BIECC to ASM Global’s management portfolio of more than 340 of the world’s most prestigious arenas, stadiums, convention and exhibition centres, and performing arts venues, will give Bahrain a stronger scale of relationships with organisers all over the world.

“We will present the kingdom to them as we truly believe that Bahrain has something unique to offer and that is what we are going out and promoting. So we are promoting the destination first, as you need to know what experiences the country has to offer and then we promote the venue.”

According to Dr Stanford-Kristiansen, Bahrain is still regarded as a ‘hidden secret’ despite its 4,000-year history dating back to the Dilmun civilisation, a cosmopolitan culture shaped by being at the crossroads of trade between the East and the West for centuries and its unique pearling heritage.

“Authentic is the word I would use to describe the kingdom, and that’s what will attract people to come to Bahrain. We know when they come here they will fall in love with the place and then go back and tell their family and friends about it.”

The BTEA has set its sight on various industry associations, from automotive to aviation, and professional bodies in a bid to try and win some of those big international conventions, which can be anything from 2,000 to 20,000 delegates, she said.

Target

The ambitious target is in sync with the new tourism strategy announced last year which aims to raise the sector’s contribution to the national GDP to 11.4 per cent by the end of 2026, when the number of tourists is expected to exceed 14.1m.

“Right now there are 340 hotel rooms within a 5km radius of the new centre, and three hotels opening within two years in the vicinity will significantly add to that, but our aim is to bring events that will fill up all 18,000 hotel rooms in the country and drive business to the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors,” said Dr Stanford-Kristiansen noting that the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre adds to an ensemble of projects in the Southern Governorate that include the proposed Sports City and the existing much-acclaimed Bahrain International Circuit.

As reported by the GDN, the kingdom’s ‘South Side Story’ also features massive projects by the Bahrain Real Estate Investment Company (Edamah), the real estate development arm of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund.

The flagship is Bilaj Al Jazayer, a 1.5 million sqm beach destination, whose masterplan was approved by Bahrain’s Higher Urban Planning Committee chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister earlier this month.

Along with investors and strategic partners, the masterplan entails the construction of a string of hotels, entertainment and leisure facilities, restaurants, and retail and residential components.

Two important facilities have already been announced: opening by 2024, the Avani and Tivoli hotels will be the first hospitality projects at Bilaj Al Jazayer.

Opening later this year along a 1.25km stretch of coastline is the five-star Jumeirah Khaleej Al Bahrain, anchoring the Al Sahel development, which Edamah believes will kick-off the activation of the south of Bahrain.

avinash@gdn.com.bh

(Image: gdnimages/20220219\20220219211130ertty.JPG)