Wanted: Multi-purpose events centre

For several years, the authorities, essentially based on requests from the tourist and travel industry, have been contemplating building a multi-purpose events and exhibition centre in or around Colombo, ideally within a distance of 10-15 km.

Many proposals have been made during previous regimes but these proposals, after initial interest, have not taken off.

For exhibitions and conventions, Sri Lanka’s main venue is the BMICH and the adjoining Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre (SBMEC) in the same premises with one problem; the venue is booked right through the year and cannot meet the annual demand for exhibitions, conferences and related events. The Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre in Colombo is a performing arts theatre and cannot be used for other purposes.

The other venue, the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC) is also an events, exhibition and convention centre with one major drawback – there are no proper parking facilities.

Both centres – SBMEC and the SLECC - can accommodate a maximum of 100 to 200 exhibition stalls each, far lower than their counterparts in Asian region.

The latest facility, the Magam Ruhunupura International Convention Centre (MRICC) in Hambantota, is also not a multi-purpose centre but built to accommodate conferences and banquets.

While the tourism industry was yearning for a proper, megaevents centre, previous governments instead built two more conference halls – the Nelum Pokuna (which is more for musical events) and the Hambantota Centre. In fact the Shangri-La hotel in Hambantota was also built to cater to expected demand at the Hambantota conference facility but is struggling to attract clientele today due to the absence of conferences and events. Both conference halls are white elephants today.

The need of the hour has been MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism, with the authorities making bids internationally to promote the country as a MICE centre but in the absence of a large events venue, Sri Lanka is unable to pitch for such international events.

These thoughts came to my mind when I read about the controversy over the proposed international cricket stadium at Homagama promoted by Minister Bandula Gunawardene. The proposal appears to have been abandoned, for the moment, following protests from many quarters including former test cricketers that it would be a waste to build another stadium when the current facilities at Hambantota, Dambulla and Kandy are used just two to three times a year.

Why not use this land for a mega multi-purpose events centre that the tourism and events industry has been championing, I asked myself.

At the same time on Thursday morning, the phone rang. It was Imran Hassan, Past President of the Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference and Exhibition Organisers, on the line.

“Hi…hi, what’s up,” I said. “Did you read about the controversial cricket stadium,” he asked. “Yes, I was in fact thinking about it and wondering whether it would be more appropriate to put up that long-awaited, multi-purpose events centre that your industry has been pushing for,” I said.

“Absolutely spot on. Instead of building a cricket stadium which would host one or two matches a year, a multi-purpose events centre will have events throughout the year and the land size is what we are looking for,” he said, adding that they hoped to meet Minister Gunawardene and promote this project, as government support to provide the land – as a stakeholder - is key to a plan of this nature.

He recalled that it was many years ago during the time Kingsley Wickremaratne was trade minister in the Chandrika Kumaratunga government in 1994 to 2000 that this minister was considering building such a centre at Malabe, where the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology is located. “The proposal has been in the works for a long time,” he said. We then discussed in detail about the need for a multi-purpose centre.

To get a handle on this situation, I remembered Vipula Wanigasekera, former CEO of the Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau and former Director General of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, who was a long-time supporter of building an events centre that would favourably compete with the likes of Singapore, Dubai, India and Malaysia for MICE business.

When he answered my call, he too was interested in the idea of the government land at Homagama being used for such a centre instead of a cricket stadium.

“Unfortunately, in the last 15-20 years, while we were promoting and building auditoriums, other countries were constructing multi-purpose events’ centres that can accommodate a host of activities including conferences, exhibitions, conventions, banquets, weddings, functions or even sports events,” he said.

Colombo’s SBMEC has 4,500 sq metres of exhibition and events space while the Singapore Expo, that city’s largest convention centre, has 100,000 sq metres of space and recently was transformed to a temporary home for COVID-19 patients. “How can we compete for large international events when our venues are small compared to other country venues,” he asked. Dubai is also a popular MICE centre and its largest venue, the World Trade Centre, has now been transformed to a 3,000-bed field hospital for COVID-19 patients.

A good multi-purpose centre would require about 5 to 10 acres of land with large parking areas and a multi-purpose building which can be transformed to host a conference, convention, exhibition, musical show, sports event and multiple events (5 or 10 at a time).

Both experts say that Sri Lanka ideally should have about four halls accommodating 250 stalls each or together 1,000 stalls for one mega event.

As I contemplated these developments, my mind strayed to a conversation under the margosa tree by the trio who had gathered for their usual Thursday morning ‘gossip’. “Rate thathwaya saamanya-wei, ena sumane kattiya wedata yanna patan gaththahama (Things will return to normal next week with more people going to work),” said Kussi Amma Sera.

“Ov... paudgalika bus ratha pare thiyewi. Kochchith hariyata weda karai (Yes… private buses are expected to operate and trains will also run as normal),” noted Mabel Rasthiyadu.

“Maasa thunakata wedi kaalayak mama gamata yanna balagena hitiya (I have been looking forward to going home for more than three months),” added Serapina, excited at the prospect of going home. The other two also agreed that it was time to visit their families in their hometowns, after a long spell.

Kussi Amma Sera then broke away from the conversation to bring my second cup of tea for the morning, asking: “Korona virus gataluva honda athata haremin thiyenawa neda (Isn’t the coronavirus problem getting better)?”

“Mama ehema hithanava... mama ehema hithanava (I think so… I think so),” I said, preparing for next week when more people will get to work and the country will gradually move to some level of normalcy.