 Bonn,
18 June 2007. Bonn is set to become a globally
important and modern meeting place with a new conference
hall for more than 1500 delegates (parliamentary seating),
a hotel and a shopping area. This became evident to the
public on the occasion of the official laying of the foundation
stone on 15 May 2007.
“This new conference hall will complement the existing
excellent conference facilities of Bonn, e.g. the former
plenary hall of the German Parliament (1225 participants)
with a large number of smaller conference rooms, starting
with the former Wasserwerk (up to 450 participants). Also
there are is the Conference Hotel (Maritim) with ample
conference rooms, and a separate conference area 10 km
from Bonn with a hotel and vast security fences (the former
guest house of the German Government) in the midst of
the beautiful hilly nature conservation area of Petersberg.
 "The
new conference area is directly adjacent to the Langer
Eugen UN offices and will form an integral part of the
United Nations Campus in Bonn. It has a new title: “World
Conference Center Bonn” (WCCB)”. It is being
built and will then be managed for 30 years by a Korean
investor under a public-private partnership. Since 6 June
2007 the operative management switched from Gegenbauer
to SMI Hyundai after these two companies partnered up
in January of this year (www.gegenbauerbosse.de/aktuell.htm
- German only). The Bonn Chamber of Industry & Commerce
estimates that the city and region of Bonn will gain an
additional benefit of approx. EUR 30 million p.a. from
the enlarged conference facilities.“
An interesting side-event took place in March this year
as construction work revealed a Roman bath complex. This
was moved across the site in blocks in order to preserve
the ruins and incorporate them into the planned wellness
centre. It is intended to later display the ruins to the
public at the site (more
on www.worldccbonn.com - German only).
Current Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth noted that
“the CMS COP7 held in September 2002 was the last
conference to be held in the former parliament prior to
refurbishing and expansion and I hope to see the day when
another CMS Conference of Parties can be held, perhaps
in partnership with another Convention, in the new centre.“
In any event the CMS Secretariat recognises with appreciation
that the City of Bonn and the World Conference Centre
Bonn are providing a range of conference facilities close
to the UN Campus to meet the needs of many different sizes
of organisations and meetings.
For more information about the WCCB project see www.worldccbonn.com.
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