GURUGRAM: The Haryana government will develop a world-class convention centre on about 25 acres in Gurugram, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said on Sunday, after studying the convention facilities at Singapore's Suntec City during his three-day visit to the city-state.

According to the state government's press release, the centre is meant to host large international conferences, business meetings, exhibitions and other global events. The government said it will be equipped with up-to-date technology and modern engineering, and that it would strengthen Gurugram's international identity and draw investment.

For scale, 25 acres is a little over 10 hectares, larger than most hotel and mall plots in the city. The release did not name a site, a cost, an executing agency or a timeline. Those four details will decide whether the project becomes a building or stays an announcement, and none of them has been made public yet.

There is also a small mismatch in the official numbers. Earlier posts on Sunday from the Chief Minister's Office and the state information department described the venue as spread over 20 acres, while the formal press release issued later in the evening put it at about 25 acres. The press release figure is the one used here until the government clarifies.

Saini was accompanied by Industries and Commerce Minister Rao Narbir Singh, who is also the Badshahpur MLA, along with Industries Commissioner and Secretary Dr Amit Kumar Agrawal, Director General of Industries Yash Garg, and HSIIDC managing director Vinay Pratap Singh. The presence of the industrial development corporation's chief suggests the project is being viewed as an investment asset as much as a civic one.

Suntec, which the delegation toured, sits in the middle of Singapore's business district and is linked directly to office towers and a large shopping mall. The press release said the Chief Minister gathered information on its construction techniques, engineering and operating systems.

Manesar park and a jungle safari also on the list

The release also said the government will build state-of-the-art infrastructure in Manesar along with a large, aesthetically designed park, which it said would give residents better civic amenities and a greener environment. No size or location was given for the park.

Separately, the state information department said Saini visited the Mandai Wildlife Reserve in Singapore to study wildlife conservation, tourism and visitor management with the proposed jungle safari for Gurugram in mind. The safari has been discussed for the Aravalli belt for some time, and environmental groups have repeatedly asked that any tourism plan in the hills be tested against forest protection rules. Dalimss has covered the Supreme Court panel's Aravalli mapping consultation in Gurugram, which bears directly on what can be built there.

At Gardens by the Bay, the delegation looked at plant conservation and water management systems. For Gurugram, where groundwater has been called grim before the High Court, the water management part may matter more to residents than any exhibition hall.

Gurugram has talked about a large convention venue for years, including an earlier plan for a smaller site in Sector 29. Large conferences in the National Capital Region today tend to go to Delhi venues such as Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhoomi, or to hotel ballrooms, so a dedicated Gurugram facility is aimed at pulling some of that business into Haryana.

For residents, the real test will be where the 25 acres come from and what the project does to traffic. A venue built for international events will need road, Metro and parking planning on the scale of the projects already in the pipeline, such as the Southern Peripheral Road elevated corridor tender.

The Chief Minister is scheduled to be in Singapore until 6 October. During the trip he also addressed an investor event organised by the Singapore Business Federation, according to state government posts. Any site identification, consultant appointment or budget provision for the convention centre will need a formal order from the state, and until that order is issued, the 25 acres exist only on paper.