TAITRA gearing up for the opening of new exhibition hall

Participants in the world's second-largest computer trade show -- Computex Taipei -- will find more space for displaying their latest products in 2008 when the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall is completed.

"In the past, we did not have enough space to accommodate some foreign companies in our trade shows, but in a year's time, they will be able to take advantage of the new hall," said Walter Yeh (葉明水), executive vice president of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) during a special event held to update foreign dignitaries on the progress of the construction of the Nangang Exhibition Hall.

With the long-awaited hall looking ready to start operations in 2008, he said that major trade shows organized by TAITRA would be able utilize the space to enhance participants' experience.

In addition to Computex Taipei, shows such as Food Taipei, Taipei Cycle, Taipei International Auto Parts and Accessories Show and the Taipei International Automobile Electronics Show will be able to house part of their exhibitions in the new hall.

These exhibitions usually attract hordes of local and overseas vendors, visitors and buyers.

For instance, Computex Taipei, the second-largest IT trade fair after Germany's CeBIT, had a record 1,312 exhibitors displaying their wares at 2,907 booths in June.

The five-day fair drew more than 130,000 visitors, including 30,000 overseas buyers.

The nation's expositions are commonly held at the Taipei International Convention Center and Taipei World Trade Center's (TWTC) three exhibition halls located in the bustling Xinyi District.

The new exhibition hall in Nangang District will have seven floors and two underground levels with a total floor space of 47,000m2 that can accommodate more than 2,600 booths.

"Even if the completion date of the hall is delayed by six months to October next year, we will still have some buffer time before holding the first show in March 2008," Yeh said.

The Nangang hall was originally scheduled for completion last June, but has been delayed to next April.

Commenting on the decision to accommodate part of the nation's major expositions in Nangang, a trade association official stressed the need for authorities "to pay attention to the transport issue from TWTC to the Nangang Exhibition Hall."

Enoch Du (杜全昌), secretary-general of Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會), Comput-ex's co-organizer which also holds various consumer IT fairs at TWTC throughout the year, said that shuttle bus services must be well coordinated to accommodate the traffic among all halls, or else most vendors will fight for a spot in TWTC, which is located in a commercial hub and close to downtown.

By roping in Nangang as one of the venues for Computex, priority for booth booking should be given to local companies, he said.

"Computex is a platform for overseas buyers to source products from Taiwanese makers. Therefore they [local firms] should be given priority," Du said.