The Kenyan Cabinet has today approved the establishment of the Bomas International Convention Centre (BICC).
The ultra-modern convention will help position Kenya as the destination of choice for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism. In addition, it will seek to further cement the country as a diplomatic and commercial hub.
According to a statement released today by the Cabinet, the new BICC will feature a Conference Centre, a Presidential Pavilion and at least five hotels.
BICC will join Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) as the two such establishments currently in the country. Part of the statement reads, “The State initiative, fifty years after the groundbreaking of Kenya’s first international convention centre (KICC), is expected to further the growth of conference tourism, hospitality, and aviation industries.”
Commissioned in 1967 and completed in 1973, KICC stood as the tallest building in the country for over 20 years but has since lost that record as taller buildings have come up.
The Bomas of Kenya currently serves as a tourist village located in Langata, Nairobi. The village features replicas of traditional homesteads from various Kenyan ethnic groups. In addition, it hosts daily cultural performances of Kenyan traditional music and dance.
According to the statement, the establishment of the BICC is in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
