G20 | International events should trigger creation of more ‘national real estate assets’: Urban design experts

International events should trigger creation of more ‘national real estate assets’ such as the Bharat Mandapam: Urban design experts

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Prime Minister Narendra Modi observed that "historically, in the circles of power, there was a certain reluctance to think beyond Delhi, particularly Vigyan Bhavan, for hosting national and international meets. This may have been due to convenience or a lack of confidence in the people."

This is important considering that large-scale international events such as the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and International Trade Fair have all been held in the capital. Also, the creation of national real estate assets such as the newly constructed Bharat Mandapam or earlier landmarks such as the Vigyan Bhawan or the sports infrastructure created during these international games have also been concentrated in Delhi.

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The prime minister highlighted that the G20 event was different in the sense that it paved the way for the ‘democratisation’ of events by holding them across cities. He said that by the end of the G20 Presidency, "there will have been over 220 meetings in 60 cities across all 28 states and eight union territories. More than one lakh participants from approximately 125 nationalities will have visited India. Over 1.5 crore individuals in our country have been involved in these programmes or have been exposed to various aspects of them. Holding meetings of such scale and hosting foreign delegates is an endeavour that calls for great capacity building in terms of infrastructure, logistics, communication skills, hospitality, and cultural activities, among others. Our democratisation of the G20 Presidency is our investment in the capacity building of the people, especially youth, of various cities across the country."

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Urban design experts agree. They are of the opinion that such international events should be the trigger for the creation of more such ‘legacy/national real estate assets’. Having said that, there should be a plan in place for their long-term use so that these venues do not turn into ‘white elephants’ or ‘dead assets’ that end up becoming a liability for the host city.

"Whenever an international event is organised in the capital, national legacy assets get created along the way. The creation of Bharat Mandapam was part of the larger plan to redevelop Pragati Maidan. As the nation progresses, we require modern infrastructure to keep pace with the times. All this became a reality because budgetary allocations were in place. These newly-created legacy assets will continue to play a major role for the next 30-40 years," PSN Rao, Professor at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), told Moneycontrol.

"We require more such facilities across the country. New infrastructure is required for revenue generation that goes into the maintenance and upkeep of the building itself. This is also required to project the country as a meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) tourism destination across the globe," he added.

It should be noted here that the Hall of Nations and many other halls in Pragati Maidan were demolished in 2017 to pave the way for the redevelopment of Pragati Maidan, which now houses the newly constructed International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC), inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26. This has been developed at a cost of about Rs 2,700 crore and will play host to the G20 Leaders Summit between September 9 and 10.

Jignesh Mehta, Senior Associate Professor at the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad, agrees that there is a need to create more such national assets in multiple cities to host international, national, state, and local events.

"These assets should be planned beyond international use — for local use as well. If the focus is on utilising them only for one international event, there is a fear that these may end up becoming dead assets, white elephants, in the long term, becoming an economic burden on the host city. Gandhinagar hosts events at the Mahatma Mandir, which is a large convention centre. There is a need to create more such convention facilities across Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Also, mixed-use development, such as shopping malls and commercial complexes, should be permitted in and around the convention centre to make it viable. Significant activity should take place in and around such centres," he added.

Smitha Kuttikat, an architect-planner based in Bengaluru, is of the opinion that these are projects of national significance. These are designed a ‘notch above’ other real estate assets and are landmark projects in terms of design in the sense that their design concepts are generally timeless. They add to the real estate valuation of that particular area, generate job opportunities, and, in that sense, contribute immensely to the local economy. Having said that, this asset creation should not be concentrated in one city but should be spread across the country where national and international events can be held.

Architect Vidyadhar Wodeyar, Principal Architect, Arch Plan Architects, Bengaluru, is of the view that several Habitat Centres, such as the one in Delhi, should come up across the country, especially in southern cities where such events can be held. "This can come up close to the Bengaluru airport," he suggested.

Since the last few decades, international events such as the Unesco Conference held in the 1950s, the Asian Games in 1982, and the Commonwealth Games in 2010 have all helped Delhi undergo massive urban and infrastructure restructuring.

AK Jain, former commissioner of planning, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), who played an active role in the planning of the Asiad Games Village, recounts that the project had come up on a site that was originally land demarcated for ‘recreational’ purposes. The land use was changed to residential and institutional to pave the way for what is today the Siri Fort Auditorium and the Asiad Games Village.

"These national/legacy real estate assets should not be concentrated in the capital but should come up across cities. We could have more such convention facilities come up in Ayodhya and near new international airports such as Jewar, where there is potential to host MICE events," he added.

An independent urban planner and consultant, who does not wish to be named, is of the opinion that very few national assets have been created over the years, primarily on account of the high costs involved in maintaining them. "Going forward, the residual long-term opportunities that emanate from MICE should be considered before planning convention centres across cities," he said.