Construction on the new £333million Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) is “going well” and the vital Offshore Europe event should be able to be held at the venue in 2019, according to council chiefs.
Thousands of people regularly attend the oil industry conference from across the globe during its biennial visits to the Granite City, generating more than £53million for the local economy in 2015.
But this will be the last year it is staged at the current AECC venue in Bridge of Don.
And now, the city council, who are leading the project, has confirmed works are on schedule and the multimillion-pound venue should be open in time for the September 2019 event.
Developers, Henry Boot, yesterday hailed a major “milestone” with the diversion of the Green Burn being completed.
The diversion work, which was carried out by Robertson Construction, was necessary because the original burn ran through the centre of the footprint of the new AECC building.
Derek Shewan, chief operating officer for Robertson Group said: “The diversion has increased the total length of the burn, substantially reduced the number and length of culverts, and increased the quality of the water and bankside.
“The landscaping work re-used materials from the Rowett Institute, which were salvaged from the demolitions.”
Nick Harris, director of Henry Boot Developments in Scotland, added: “The successful completion of these works is a substantial milestone for the AECC project, along with the first steelwork for the hotel which began to be erected last month.
“It’s great to see progress coming along so well on this new facility.”
A council spokeswoman said: “The new AECC is expected to attract major artists to the city and help in ensuring Aberdeen is a top international destination to live and visit, and it’s great to see it taking shape with the burn diversion and the steels.”
The new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre is expected to contribute an additional 4.5million visitors, £113million of visitor spend and £63m to the Scottish economy.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “Larger events such as Offshore Europe undoubtedly have the potential to bring a positive economic impact to the area they are within.
“It is crucial, at a city and regional level, that we can attract events of this global importance to the city and a new state of the art facility.”
