Written by Li Muzi / Translated by Xu Zhiliang

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The Newly-installed Functions of CAEXPO's Pavilions

Written by Li Muzi / Translated by Xu Zhiliang

N anning International Convention & Exhibition Center （NICEC） has been serving as the main venue for CAEXPO and China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit since Nanning was offi cially designated as the permanent home of CAEXPO. Looking back on the previous CAEXPOs， not only have a number of exhibitors at home and abroad been attracted to NICEC， due to the role as a carrier for promoting friendly cooperation between ASEAN and China， but the center's original and magnificent architectural appearance has been identifi ed as the landmark building of Nanning.

Currently， however， it is imperative that， the exhibition area of NICEC be further expanded，the supporting facilities more complete， and the functions more multiple， as the existing scale and standards cannot meet the necessary requirements to hold the future CAEXPOs and high-profi le conventions & exhibitions， appeal to much more domestic and foreign exhibitors， as well as raise the international profi le and image of Nanning.

Mr. Xia Guangbin， Secretary of Youth League Committee of the construction unit's projectdepartment， said that reconstructing and extending NICEC is of great significance to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and an upgraded version of CAEXPO but also the latter construction phase of this center's two phases，which were successively finished and put into operation in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

Mr. Xia also indicated that the major building structure in the two reserve zones in the east of NICEC has been basically built now， and the construction unit is putting greater efforts into the upgrading and reconstructing of the available pavilions （Zone B and Zone C）， such as installing the newly power-driven curtains surrounding all the pavilions， improving the facilities in the central halls， etc.

It is said that a total investment volume of NICEC's reconstruction and extension exceeds 4.5 billion yuan， and the total planning area amounts to 370 thousand square meters. According to the planning map， the expansion project is composed of four newly-built zones （Zone A， Zone B， Zone C and Zone 5），outdoor supporting projects， as well as slowmoving traffic system. In addition， technical transformation is being carried out in terms of the form pavilions' architectural engineering，water supply and drainage project， electric engineering， fi re engineering， etc.

“Processing steel reinforcement cage is an important link of infrastructure building under the construction， as it has high technical requirements. For example， the overall quality of construction will be not guaranteed if we cannot exercise strict control over errors in manufacturing straight thread and welding sequence. So， we must work more conscientiously and thoughtfully，” said a building worker at the construction site.

One staff member of China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat stated that much more emphasis has been placed on the extension of exhibition area and the optimization of exhibition area's layout，after which the overall exhibition area will be increased sharply. In terms of the newly-built exhibition area of 30 thousand square meters， the supporting service zone， including public leisure area， comprehensive service area and indoor dining area， will be accessible to CAEXPO's participants. In addition to this， International Exhibition Area， ASEAN Investment & Service Trade Exhibition Area and China-ASEAN Agricultural Cooperation Exhibition Area will also be built and be open to the public.

Moreover， once completed， the new pavilions will help NICEC develop into a modern and international complex integrating convention and exhibition， office， accommodation and catering；meanwhile， the services to be provided by China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat for cooperative partners will also be improved through establishing special zones for competitive products. Mr. Xia revealed that some completed pavilions will be put into use during the period of the 13th CAEXPO this year.