The redevelopment of Thessaloniki International Exhibition & Congress Center, the only privately owned public spaces project in Greece
A five-year strategic plan is under development by the management of TIF-HELEXPO, a move of great importance, as the next five years will be particularly significant for the company, which will need to develop within an environment of redevelopment of its premises. As made known today by the Chairman of the Board of TIF-HELEXPO, Mr. Christos Tsentemeidis, speaking in the framework of the Blue Heritage Summit in Thessaloniki, through this strategic plan which will be ready in a few months – the main axes will be crystallized both in terms of exhibition and conference strategy as well as regarding the company’s international networking.
Mr. Tsentemeidis referred extensively to the redevelopment of Thessaloniki International Exhibition & Congress Center, noting that it is the only privately owned public spaces project in Greece, referring to spaces which, although they belong to an organization, such as in this case TIF-HELEXPO, operate as open, public spaces for the entire city. He stressed that the new Thessaloniki International Exhibition & Congress Center will not constitute a simple exhibition and conference venue, but will be a multifunctional urban park, which will feature a variety of activities, aiming for visitor traffic 365 days a year. In order to illustrate with figures the difference between the current and the redeveloped three years later, he noted that today the TIF premises are densely built, with 70% covered by 37 buildings, while with the redevelopment 70% of the area will be a metropolitan park and from the 37 buildings only seven will remain, of which two will be state of the art exhibition pavilions. The rest will be the OTE (Telecommunications) Tower, the MOMus Museum of Contemporary Art, the preserved Esso Pappas pavilion, the Alexandrio Melathron and of course the “I. Vellidis” Congress Center, which will be renovated. He also stressed that today within the exhibition grounds there are 7,000 m2 of scattered green areas, while within three years there will be a 120,000 m2 metropolitan park in the city center. At the same time, an underground parking area of more than 600 spaces will be created.
Regarding the redevelopment timetable, he noted that systematic work has been carried out in order to reach the tender within the summer, so that a contractor can be selected by the end of the year and the construction of the project can begin in early 2027, with a three-year horizon for its completion.
The Chairman of the Board of TIF-HELEXPO also referred to the highly competitive market in which the company operates, underlining the decisive role that corporate governance will play in this field, leading to fast and correct decisions. He made particular reference to the participation in the Board of Directors of TIF-HELEXPO of the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Region of Central Macedonia, as well as to the recent launch of the Advisory Committee with the highest possible representation of institutions, which was constituted just last week and will constitute a strategic tool for the governance of the company. “We ensure the participation of institutional and social stakeholders in the very operation of the company. We incorporate elements of institutional and social participation, strengthening transparency and the democratic operation of the development of our company,” he underlined.
Finally, he stressed that the key message of the effort being made is that the new Thessaloniki International Exhibition & Congress Center will combine state of the art exhibition facilities and a renovated congress center with a space where society itself will have at its disposal a variety of activities in terms of culture and sports. “We aim to create something very different from what exists today, where the core will not only be our exhibition and conference activity, but also our social footprint,” he noted, referring to a very successful model, citing in particular the city of Barcelona.