Tamil Nadu opens new convention centre in Chennai

By Divesh Gupta CHENNAI The Tamil Nadu Trade Promotion Organisation (TNTPO) has unveiled its new Chennai Convention Centre at the Chennai Trade Centre (CTC) complex. The convention centre, with an investment of US$5.65 million, has a space of around 6,700sqm on the ground floor, which can accommodate about 1,500 people. The TNTPO, a joint venture between the national India Trade Promotion Organisation and the state Government's Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, manages the CTC. "As meetings and conventions are part of the trade promotional activities, there has been a long-felt need for a convention facility within the CTC complex," said R. Sudalaikannan, managing director, TNTPO. The new air-conditioned centre, possesses a multi-purpose hall, banquet hall and meeting rooms. Apart from the main hall, there are six rooms with varying capacities ranging from 25 to 135 participants. The convention hall has a removable seating capacity so that the hall can be used for exhibition purposes. "There are also four video cameras which can rotate 360 degrees. The stage is also provided with a cyclorama screen," said Sudalaikannan. The hall can be divided into two by means of a foldable partition which can extend up to the end of the stage allowing two different programmes to take place simultaneously.