The opening and commissioning ceremony for the NANGANG Exhibition Hall (TWTC NANGANG ), one of the largest exhibition venues in Asia, was held on the afternoon of March 13. This also marked the opening of the hall's first major international exhibition – the Taipei International Cycle Show. The opening ceremony was hosted by Steve Ruey-long Chen, Minister for Economic Affairs; Hsu Chih-jen, Chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA); and Yang Ying-ming, Chairman of the Taiwan Bicycle Exporters' Association (TBEA).

 

President Chen Shui-bian also attended the opening ceremony to express his belief that TWTC NANGANG will become the pride of Taiwan. Other guests on the day included Vincent Gerard, Managing Director of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI); Masaomi Koike, President of the Tokyo International Exhibition Center—the largest exhibition venue in Japan—and other attendees from the local and overseas exhibition and cycle industries.

 

TWTC NANGANG is located in Taipei City's Nangang Economic and Trade Park. Its construction was funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and President Chen personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony back in February 2004. With land costs taken into account, this NT$13 billion development became a major national infrastructure project.

 

As the first locally designed world-class exhibition venue in Taiwan, TWTC NANGANG boasts many firsts as a public building that the people of Taiwan can be proud of. These include being the first exhibition center in Taiwan to have a high-ceiling pillarless indoor space, interconnection with the MRT. The structure has been awarded the Green Building mark. 

 

So far construction has been completed for Phase 1 of TWTC NANGANG which offers 2,650 booths. Once Phase 1 is commissioned, the MOEA will begin work on Phase 2 at the current site of the Nangang Elementary School on its west side. That will open an additional 2,350 booths. And, once Phase 2 is completed at the end of 2012, TWTC NANGANG will become one of Asia's top exhibition venues with space for 5,000 booths.

 

In June 2006, TAITRA won the right to manage TWTC NANGANG for 10 years in a public tender. TAITRA currently has 7 sessions and 13 large international exhibitions planned for this year. Apart from the Taipei International Cycle Show, other events coming this year to  TWTC NANGANG include the Taipei International Auto Parts & Accessories Show held in April; the Taipei International Information Technology Show and Taipei International Food Show in June; the Taipei International Plastics & Rubber Industry Show in September; and the Taiwan International Electronics Show and the Taiwan PCB Exhibition in October. With all this NANGANG Hall will become the crown jewel of Taiwan's exhibition industry. TAITRA has also invited 50 local and international exhibition organizers to secure their slots early for future events. 

 

The opening ceremony opened with the pulsating performance from a drum formation. VIPs were then invited on stage to press a button to light up the decorations. Smoke effects and ticker tape served to fire up the audience. A world-class fireworks show was also held that night. This was developed by the company which has organized the world famous TAIPEI 101 fireworks display for the past three years. The extravaganza left international guests in awe. With the public art installations around the exhibition hall and the live Jazz performance at night, the opening ceremony for TWTC NANGANG was not only packed with excitement, but also had the flair and color of an international arts festival. . 

 

Design, construction, and operation of NANGANG Hall emphasize the three features of professionalism, MRT interconnectivity, and mega capacity.  

 

1.      Professionalism: TWTC NANGANG is the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Taiwan designed specifically for hosting large exhibitions. It is equipped with a large lobby to handle large crowds and process registrations. Other professional touches included hidden cabling troughs, loading/unloading zones and exhibition access controls.

 

2.      MRT Interconnectivity: TWTC NANGANG is connected via underground corridors to the MRT stations for the Neihu Line and Blue Line. Once MRT service is available it will carry more than half of all exhibition traffic, so visitors can arrive at the exhibition hall easily and safely. As the Neihu Line is also connected to the Songshan Airport, buyers from out of town can take the MRT from the airport straight to TWTC NANGANG  without having to worry about traffic jams or the weather.

 

3.     Large Capacity: TWTC NANGANG offers twice the space of TWTC Hall 1. The lobby, outdoor exhibition spaces and conferencing space together can hold nearly 3,000 standard booths. The exhibition hall on the 4^th floor is 126m by 180m in size and has a ceiling height of 27m. When used for large concerts, it can hold nearly 30,000 people, making it the largest indoor performance venue in Taiwan.