EICC EXPANSION SPACE DELAYED AS A RESULT OF ESCALATING CONSTRUCTION COSTS
CALA-AWG, the appointed developer for Site HI at The Exchange has advised Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) Ltd that they are unable to progress development plans for the site due to escalation in construction costs which have been higher than first anticipated.
EICC Ltd and the City of Edinburgh Council entered into a development agreement with CALA-AWG in 2005 to procure Site HI, which would complete the original masterplan for Edinburgh’s financial district at the Exchange.
The agreement involved the construction of expansion space for the EICC, scheduled for 2009, in return for development rights for the remainder of the site with grade A office block facilities of approximately 17,280 sq m (net) and 870 sq m of retail space included in the scheme that achieved planning consent in 2006.
EICC Chief Executive Hans Rissmann, OBE, said: “We regret the prospect of losing momentum of our original development schedule, but our focus now is on resuming the process as quickly as we can within European Union procurement rules.
“Our first client, who was scheduled for the new space in 2009, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has already confirmed they will still be coming to Edinburgh and the EICC.”
A spokesman for CALA-AWG Ltd said: “We have worked hard on this project for four years and have made a significant investment in taking the project to such an advanced stage.
“However, construction costs have risen significantly at a global level and it is bitterly disappointing that this situation has arisen, which could not have been predicted at the time of our selection.
“We have been a partner with EICC and the City of Edinburgh Council for 15 years in the Exchange District, having successfully developed Clydesdale Bank Plaza and Exchange Crescent and it is our wish to support the Council on this project going forward.”
Andrew Holmes, Director of City Development for the City of Edinburgh Council said: “We have been advised that CALA-AWG are no longer able to progress this development. This is particularly disappointing from the Council’s point of view as this development gives EICC a unique expansion space and will enable the city to compete for more world class conferences and events.
“We will now work closely with EICC on the best means of delivering this major project, the last development within the Exchange, described as the heart of the Capital’s booming financial services business district, which will support thousands of jobs and be of huge economic benefit to Edinburgh and to the wider city region”
Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of CALA-AWG, City of Edinburgh Council and EICC
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