The eagerly anticipated Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) at Spencer Dock is ahead of its target completion date of September 2010, according to chief executive Nick Waight.
The 44,000 square metre development has been drawing steady interest from abroad in recent months. It already has 18 contracted bookings with international associations, some of which have booked dates up to 2015.

These include such diverse groups as the International Bar Association, the Euro-science Open Forum and  the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, all of which will hold
meetings in 2012. The CCD, with its seven storey glass atrium with views over the Liffey and across to the Dublin Mountains, is a symbol of the transformation of Spencer Dock.  Waight said that glazing of this unique feature was complete and the €215  million building had now been 'weathered'. "All of the internal walls are starting to go up," he said. "The escalators are in and the lifts are starting to go in. It is incredibly exciting because it is becoming alive." There are now 15 people recruited as part of the project but that will rise to  40 when the team moves into the building in December. Apart from confirmed bookings, the CCD has almost 90 'options' bookings up to 2015, the equivalent of 450  delegate days. It is a number that can go up and down as Dublin competes with other cities to attract association conferences. "While we are in a downturn, business is still being  done," he said. "Meetings are still happening, as are conferences. There are fewer of them but it just means you have to go out and get them."   Next year, the Samuel Beckett Bridge will open in the docklands, providing two-lane traffic access. The CCD will also benefit greatly from the extension of the Luas across the new Spencer Dock Bridge to the 02 arena.

The CCD will have a main 2,000-seater auditorium, exhibition areas, banqueting facilities for up to 3,000 people at one time and 22 flexible conference spaces for accommodating up to 8,000 delegates.  Waight said the CCD would benefit from a honeymoon period of being a novelty, giving it an advantage over other convention centres in the increasingly competitive
environment. If anything, he said, opening during a recession was probably an optimum time for a state-of-the-art conference centre because it would attract international delegates to the city. 

Ireland Inc has rallied in promoting the city. Waight said he was at roadshows in Paris and Brussels recently where the events were promoted by the respective Irish ambassadors
in those cities.   "The idea was to attract international buyers to it," he said. "We did it in conjunction with Failte Ireland, the Dublin Convention Bureau and the Association of Irish Professional Conference Organisers. "It was a real 'Team Ireland' approach and that was really evident in terms of what the customers  saw. Their feeling was it was quite a joined-up approach for a city and a country to go out and look for international business."