Former HKCEC specialist to head new exhibition centre

By Mark Armsden HONG KONG Former Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre (HKCEC) business development manager Mr Allen Ha is to head the exhibition centre at Hong Kong airport and believes the city can sustain two large fair venues. Mr Ha will be deputy chief executive officer of the yet-to-be-named facility, which is due to open in December 2005 with 66,000sqm of exhibition space in ten halls. Eight of those halls can be variously configured to create one large space, while the other two halls will be stand-alone buildings. One of those buildings will also contain removable seating and can be used as a plenary hall. All exhibition space will be on the ground floor of the development, while the first floor will contain conference and meeting space with the configurations to be confirmed during the final stages of the design process. But the new centre has not been developed without controversy, with the HKCEC having already questioned its sustainability and its ability to attract new trade fairs, Mr Ha is adamant the new centre will be a success to complement existing centres. "I absolutely believe this centre will be sustainable," Mr Ha said. "I believed in the exhibition and conference market in Hong Kong before I made the move (from the HKCEC) and I think it is a good thing for Hong Kong to expand its portfolio of facilities. "We have already had encouraging requests from organisers which has shown me we will be able to be competitive." Mr Ha added the name of the company he will head will be up and running from October and in new offices. Once executive positions in the management company have been filled, a committee will then begin canvassing ideas to name the centre. The centre will form part of a massive development at the airport called Sky City and when finished it will cover a land area as large as Hong Kong's central district and include a golf course, one and possibly two new hotels and an international ferry pier and a helipad.