QSNCC: Thailand’s rebuilt national convention center faces first test on global stage

Thailand is hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit next week at the newly rebuilt Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC).

The venue closed in April 2019 for a 15-billion-baht renovation before reopening in September — just in time for APEC 2022, when leaders of 21 member economies will convene for their annual meeting on November 18-19.

This will be the first time that APEC leaders have attended a meeting in person since the COVID-19 pandemic, when their summits were held online.

The QSNCC has already hosted many national and international events since reopening on September 12, including Book Expo Thailand 2022, Huawei Connect 2022, Electric Vehicle Asia 2022, ASEAN Sustainable Energy Week 2022, and Thailand Game Show 2022.

Reservations have been made for 130 exhibitions next year, on top of the 50 booked for this year, according to NCC Management and Development Co Ltd, which operates the conference center.

Built 3 decades ago

Thailand’s first international convention center, the QSNCC was built in 1989 to host the 46th Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

The convention center was named after Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother in honor of her 60th birthday on August 12, 1992. The late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the Queen presided over the QSNCC’s official opening ceremony on August 29, 1991.

Over three decades later, Their Majesties King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida presided over the official opening of the new QSNCC on October 15, 2022.

Located on a 53-rai (8.5-hectare) plot on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district, the center crowns Benjakitti Park close to Sukhumvit Road’s Asok Intersection.

Since first opening in 1991, QSNCC has hosted more than 20,000 national and international events, forming the hub of Thailand’s so-called MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) sector.

These include the 11th APEC Summit in 2003, the last time Thailand hosted the economic bloc, and the 41st Miss Universe beauty pageant in 1992.

Five times larger

Rebuilt from scratch after the original building was demolished, the new QSNCC has five times more space than its predecessor, with 300,000 square meters, equivalent to 50 soccer pitches, capable of accommodating up to 100,000 visitors per day.

NCC, the MICE arm of the Thai Beverage conglomerate owned by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, secured an agreement with the Treasury Department to upgrade the QSNCC and its limited space of 65,000 square meters.

The convention center now boasts eight exhibition halls, four conference halls, four plenary halls, 50 meeting rooms, and a new retail area called the “Bangkok Active Lifestyle Mall”, or BALM, spanning 11,000 square meters. Its underground parking area, something that did not exist in the original QSNCC, can accommodate up to 3,000 vehicles.

The new QSNCC is expected to attract up to 13 million visitors in its first year of reopening, more than two times its previous capacity of 6 million, according to Sakchai Pattarapreechakul, president of NCC Management and Development.

Ultramodern design with Thai identity

The renovated conference center features a sleek, minimalist contemporary design inspired by traditional Thai patterns and the Queen Mother’s arts and crafts foundation. “We are giving them new life so they can reside among us in the modern world. Thai craftsmanship, wisdom, art, and culture are all alive and prospering, radiating their essence in a new light,” the QSNCC says on its website.

It adds that the QSNCC is also Thailand’s first convention center to earn “Silver” certification in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ratings — the most widely used green building rating system.

The center is equipped with ultramodern digital technology and infrastructure to accommodate high-tech events. Fiber-optic and WiFi networks mean QSNCC can host online and hybrid events running at full capacity.

Security is being tightened in and around the center as the APEC Summit approaches. The adjacent Benjakitti Park will be off-limits to the public for the duration of the summit. The QSNCC MRT subway station will also be closed. Meanwhile, roads around the venue will be closed to traffic, some around the clock and others at designated times of day.

By Thai PBS World