Convention center ‘powered by Samsung’ officially opens Thursday

The new convention center will be inaugurated Thursday with a visit from the President. Photo: Courtesy

Mérida, Yucatán — Workers are scrambling with last-minute details to get the International Congress Center open by Thursday.

Originally planned to be ready by December 2017, and then in March, the CIC will open April 5 with a ceremony attended by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

Crews are finishing up access roads, gardens, wiring and finishes. Construction began in May last year and steel frames first rose in July.

The entire project cost around 200 million pesos and triggered a wave of hotel development in the city. In exchange for technology help, a South Korean company worked its brand into the complex’s official name, which blends Spanish and English: Centro Internacional de Congresos de Yucatán, Powered by Samsung.

The CIC will have exhibition space with room enough for 6,000 people.

It will also have two alternate rooms, each taking up 1,890 square meters; a business area with corporate meeting rooms and office modules; an outdoor main square; two 500-square-meter terraces for social events; two service areas; and underground parking.

It overshadows the city’s ’90s-era convention center, the Siglo XXI, which will continue to function with large-scale events. The CIC will take on a more international focus.

In addition, the CIC’s location in the so-called hotel zone and 150 meters from the Paseo de Montejo places it strategically for tourists.

Another advantage of this location is that it is 10 minutes from the Centro Histórico and five minutes from the hotels near the Siglo XXI.

President Peña Nieto’s visit will also include the opening of the Specialty Regional Hospital for the Armed Forces.

With information from a state government press release.

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