New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) A parliamentary committee has expressed displeasure over delay in completion of phase-1 of the India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC) project in Dwarka here and asked the commerce and industry ministry to closely monitor its progress.

The IICC, a flagship project of the Centre, is being developed to create a world class exhibition and convention centre to promote meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) activities in India.

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The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 20, 2018.

"The committee is perturbed to note that the Phase I of the project has not been commissioned till date despite the measures taken by the department (for promotion of industry and internal trade)," according to the report of the department related parliamentary standing committee on commerce.

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It asked the DPIIT to furnish a status report of the project with details of the specific issues causing the delay.

The project is planned over an area of 89.72 hectares in Sector 25, Dwarka here. It includes a convention centre (to accommodate 11,000 persons), five exhibition halls, one kilometre-long foyer, multi-purpose arena with retractable roof (to accommodate 20,000 persons), 3/4/5 star hotels, office space and commercial/retail space.

The project is being developed in two phases.

Phase-I includes convention centre (60,000 sqm) and two exhibition halls (61,000 sqm) with adjoining foyer and the entire trunk infrastructure of the project.

The report further said the committee is "unhappy" to note that only 70.09 per cent of Phase 1 of IICC project has been completed even after delay of more than three years and complete utilisation of budgetary support of Rs 2,442.39 crore.

"The committee recommends the department to closely monitor the progress of the project and ensure its expedited completion and commissioning without further delay," it added.

In another report, the committee has suggested to the department of commerce to expedite formulation of a new SEZ law to give impetus to the sector.

In the Union Budget 2022-23, the government had proposed to replace the existing law governing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with a new legislation to enable states to become partners in 'Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs' (DESH).

It also suggested setting up National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited testing and certification labs in Ladakh to boost exports from the region.

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