The construction of the National Congress and Convention Center (CNCC) will begin in January of 2017 as the Comptroller General of the Republic of Costa Rica notified that it has approved the contract for the construction of the center.

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute confirmed that with this approval they will begin the construction in January 2017 and the awarded company, Edica, will have a year term to complete the project.

“It’s been many years in which the tourism sector and the country in general have been awaiting the construction of the National Congress and Convention Center, and we have put all our efforts towards accelerating the process and make this project a reality; after concluding with this important step we can now begin the construction and we will soon compete in the profitable industry of meetings tourism” said Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism.

The CNCC contemplates a main building with an area of 15,600 square meters, to be constructed in a 10 hectare land located at a distance of 8km of the Juan Santamaria International Airport and 10 km of the center of San Jose, close to the Wyndham Hotel. The building will have a maximum capacity of 4600 people and the estimated cost for the first stage of the project is of $35 million USD.

The architecture and design of the convention center will be sustainable, in accordance to the image of the country, and it will offer spaces for expos, services, convention rooms, parking, open air events area, etc.

The CNCC will allow the Tourism Institute to venture in the meetings tourism sector, participating in renowned specialized fairs and generating alliances with important organisms such as the International Congress and Convention Association and the Confederation of Organizers of Congresses in Latin America, among others.

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute shows that during 2015 419,077 people that visited Costa Rica did so for business.