New Congress center opens today

The Istanbul Congress Center, host of the 2009 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, opens today. 

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş will attend the ribbon cutting ceremony of the center, which was built by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

The Istanbul Congress Center, located in Istanbul’s Harbiye district, will host about 20,000 people during the 2009 Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF. After that, the center will be utilized to host many meetings on a national and an international level.

One of the most interesting features of the convention center is the fact that it is mainly underground on 19,000 square meters of land. In order to eliminate any possibility of a traffic jam, a tunnel was also built underground. Above, the tunnel, which is 485 meters long, will only be connected to a service road, used only in times of emergency. Several multi-purpose exhibition halls were built above the tunnel.

During the construction period of the center, the Muhsin Ertuğrul Theater was demolished and then rebuilt. The five-story theater has the capacity to hold 500 people and will also include a cafeteria and a library. Harbiye Open-air Theater was also renovated with a “square that opens out to the sea” concept.

The Istanbul Congress Center is embedded underground. The center has seven storys underground and five storeys above ground. It cost the municipality 330 million Turkish Liras to build the center.

The center is equiped with advanced technology and simultaneous translation rooms as well as an auditorium with a capacity to hold 3,500 people. Five galleries in sizes varying anywhere from 500 square meters to 1,300 square meters are also part of the building. The center includes 1,000 offices that are 20 square meters wide, and also a parking garage with the capacity for 850 vehicles.