The construction of the third exhibition center at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) in Haeundae, Busan, has been given the green light to proceed. The project has passed the Busan city’s public construction review and is set to be fully underway soon. The city’s MICE Industry Division, which is leading the project, has announced plans to hold a design competition, with the winner set to begin basic design service in the second half of this year. Construction is expected to commence in 2024, with a target completion date of December 2026 and an official opening in March 2027. The third exhibition hall will be built on the site of the first exhibition hall’s outdoor parking lot, with a total area of 75,000 square meters.
However, the project faces a challenge in funding the estimated 190.8 billion won budget without government support. The city is considering utilizing its financial resources or issuing municipal bonds to cover the cost. The public review committee has made three main conditions for the project, including the supplementation of design guidelines for connecting the underground parking lots of the second and third halls, the addition of beam design for large-scale architectural design, and the construction of zero-energy buildings in line with the carbon-neutral era.
The construction of BEXCO’s third venue has been initiated due to the saturation of the utilization rate of the first and second halls, which reached 58% and 59% in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The exhibition and convention industry considers a venue to be saturated when it reaches 60% utilization. An official from the city’s MICE Industry Division stated that the budget for the project is expected to increase further and the exact budget for connecting the underground parking lot will be determined after the completion of the basic design.
