The first construction phase of Quito, Ecuador’s new Metropolitan Convention Centre is being financed by a donation from AECON, Canada’s largest publicly-traded construction company.
The project is headed by CEES, the Ecuadorian Council of Sustainable Construction, who chose Ekron as the official construction company for the project. Plans after finalizing the construction of the Convention Center include becoming an LEED-certified establishment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and using less water and energy.
The new convention centre will have more than 300,000 square feet of meeting space. Features include:
- two lobbies (18,830 square feet and 14,640 square feet)
- two 26,900-square-foot exhibition spaces, each with a capacity of over 4,000 people
- a 26,930-square-foot event space (capacity: 4,000)
- multi-functional auditorium that will accommodate up to 800 people
- several work spaces and breakout rooms
Construction of the centre is expected to take 14 months, and is scheduled to be completed in 2018.
Quito is known as the capital at the “Middle of the World” and is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Cultural Site. The new convention centre will be large enough to host significant conferences and is expected to help grow the city as a MICE destination.
Aecon Group, Canada’s largest publicly-traded construction company, also participated in the construction of Quito’s international airport. Its Canadian projects include: Corus Entertainment building in Toronto; the West Vancouver Community Centre; and Calgary’s Health Region’s South Health Campus. It recently broke ground on the new 277,360-square-foot Bermuda International Airport Terminal.
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