Marseille seeking bids for US$1.4 billion conference centre concession
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The City of Marseille has published a concession notice for the development and operation of the conference and exhibition centre in the city. The 30-year concession has an estimated total value of EUR1.2 billion (US$1.4 billion).
The successful bidder will design, construct and finance new equipment and facilities of the Chanot centre so that it includes approximately 40,000m2 of exhibition space and potentially also an event hall with around 6,000 seats. This will involve the demolition of many of the centre's existing structures, which were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Furthermore, the concessionaire will operate the public services of the centre, manage the administrative, technical and financial aspects of the operations, and maintain the equipment and facilities throughout the duration of the concession contract.
Located in the centre of Marseille, the second biggest city in France, the centre hosted 800 conferences, seminars and corporate events last year. 21 of these had more than 1,000 participants.
As well as the replacement of existing structures, studies on the project have recommend the construction of a new contemporary building. Called the "prestige space", this is envisaged as having remarkable and eye-catching architecture, such as suspended structures or construction on stilts, and an accessible roof terrace.
The project will also involve the landscaping of the 17-hectare site. The concessionaire will create a new urban space, greener and more open to the city, with the conference centre's structures centering around a vast landscaped esplanade. Planners have also suggested a large public planted corridor that would allow pedestrians and bicycles to cross the site.
The capital cost of these works is estimated to be between EUR120 and 200 million (US$140.6 and 234.4 million).
Responses to the concession notice must be submitted by 6 September 2018. For more information, see the Business Opportunity. The City intends to select the successful bidder in July 2019, with the aim of opening the new site in 2022.
