Iloilo Convention Center | |
---|---|
Alternative names | ICON ICC |
General information | |
Type | Convention center |
Location | Megaworld Blvd., Iloilo Business Park, Mandurriao, Iloilo City, Philippines |
Coordinates | 10°42′52″N122°32′41″E / 10.71458°N 122.54480°E |
Construction started | 2013 |
Cost | 747 million [1] |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 2 |
Floor area | 11,832 m2 (127,360 sq ft) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | William V. Coscolluela |
Architecture firm | W.V. Coscolluela and Associates (WVCA) |
Other information | |
Seating capacity | 4,200 |
Iloilo Convention Center (ICON) is a convention center in Iloilo Business Park, in the district of Mandurriao, Iloilo City, Philippines. It stands on the site of Iloilo's former airport, Mandurriao Airport.
Iloilo's former airport, Manduriao Airport, occupied the site from 1937 until late 2011 (the airport itself ceased operations in June 2007). In the 1990s, Mandurriao Airport was plagued with a myriad of problems such as outdated facilities and amenities, poor passenger comfort, operation limitations due to many obstacles, and limited expandability. The airport complex likewise was located directly alongside major city thoroughfares, in particular the city's main highway, the Tomas Confesor Highway, which complicated the flow of traffic in and around the area. At one point, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, then known as "Philippine Air Transportation Office", which was already having difficulty managing vehicular traffic around the airport, proposed banning cargo and delivery trucks from passing through the road in front of the terminal building. However, the city government did not respond. This prompted authorities to have a new airport built outside Iloilo City, eventually selecting the municipality of Cabatuan for the new airport. The site of Iloilo International Airport is close to Barangay Tiring, where a World War II airfield formerly stood.
The airport's passenger terminal, built in 1982, was left abandoned after the airport's closure and stood for many years alongside the control tower. Sometime between 2012 and 2013, the airport's terminal was demolished after the entire airport complex was acquired by Megaworld Corporation. The control tower, demolished in 2021, was left untouched and served as a monument to Iloilo's aviation history and Philippine aviation history as well as a homage to Pope John Paul II's 1981 visit to the Philippines, as Iloilo was one of his destinations in his 1981 itinerary and Iloilo's airport that year was in Mandurriao.
Iloilo Convention Center's construction was completed in September 2015 in time for the APEC 2015. The 1.7-hectare (4.2-acre) lot where it stands on was donated by Megaworld Corp. [2] The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority allocated P200 million for the construction of the convention center, while another P250 million was sourced from the Priority Development Assistance Fund of Senator Franklin Drilon. [3]
The convention center designed by Ilonggo architect, William Coscolluela. The design was inspired by Iloilo's Dinagyang and Paraw Regatta festivals. The paraw is a native double outrigger sailboat in the Visayas region, used in the annual Paraw Regatta Festival sailboat race. Abstract designs of the Dinagyang Festival are featured on the glass walls of the center. [4]
It is a two-storey structure with a total floor area of 11,832 square metres (127,360 sq ft). The main hall on the ground floor has a 3,700-seat capacity and 500-seat function rooms on the second floor. A rooftop of 1,500 square metres (16,000 sq ft) is available for outdoor functions. [3]
President Benigno Aquino III led the inauguration on September 14, 2015. Senator Franklin Drilon who was instrumental in the realization of this project introduced the president and also gave his message. Congressman Jerry Trenas, Governor Arthur Defensor, Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog led the local officials who welcomed President Aquino. Also in attendance are Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson and Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. whose departments contributed to the project construction.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2015 meetings scheduled at the center include: [5]
1. Small and Medium Enterprise ministerial meeting on September 21–25
2. Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum on September 22–23
3. High-Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and the Blue Economy and Related Meetings on September 28 to October 6, 2015
Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of the island of Panay. It is the capital city of the province of Iloilo, where it is geographically situated and grouped under the Philippine Statistics Authority, but remains politically independent in terms of government and administration. In addition, it is the center of the Iloilo–Guimaras Metropolitan Area, as well as the regional center and primate city of the Western Visayas region. According to the 2020 census, Iloilo City has a population of 457,626 people. For the metropolitan area, the total population is 1,007,945 people.
Mandurriao Airport(IATA: ILO, ICAO: RPVI), also known as Iloilo Airport during its operation, was an airport serving the area of Iloilo City and the province of Iloilo in the Philippines. The airport was located five kilometers northwest of downtown Iloilo City in the district of Mandurriao. It was the fourth-busiest airport overall and the busiest domestic airport in the Philippines, accommodating over 700,000 passengers and over 5,000 tons of cargo in 2005. During the construction of the new Iloilo International Airport, it was also known as Iloilo–Mandurriao Airport.
The Hiligaynon people, often referred to as Ilonggo people or Panayan people, are the second largest subgroup of the larger Visayan ethnic group, whose primary language is Hiligaynon, an Austronesian language of the Visayan branch native to Panay, Guimaras, and Negros. They originated in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the region of Western Visayas. Over the years, inter-migrations and intra-migrations have contributed to the diaspora of the Hiligaynon to different parts of the Philippines. Today, the Hiligaynon, apart from the province of Iloilo, also form the majority in the provinces of Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Capiz, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and North Cotabato.
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Bacolod City Domestic Airport(IATA: BCD, ICAO: RPVB), also known as Bacolod Airport during its operation, was an airport that served the general area of Bacolod, the capital city of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. It was one of the busiest airports in the Western Visayas region and was one of four trunkline airports, or major commercial domestic airports, in the region, the others being Mandurriao Airport in Iloilo City, Roxas Airport in Roxas and Puerto Princesa Airport in Puerto Princesa. This airport was replaced by the new Bacolod–Silay Airport, located in nearby Silay.
Mandurriao is a district in Iloilo City, in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the Western Visayas region, in the Philippines. It is the second-largest district by land area as well as the third-most populous district, with 62,240 people in the 2020 census. Mandurriao has emerged as the focal point of urban development in Iloilo City, gaining recognition as the future commercial and financial center.
Villa de Arevalo, commonly known as simply Villa or Arevalo, is a district in Iloilo City, in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay in Western Visayas region, in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 55,476 people. Arevalo is situated as the westernmost district of Iloilo City and shares its border with Oton to the west.
Iloilo International Airport, also known as Iloilo Airport, and as Cabatuan Airport, after the municipality of Cabatuan, Iloilo, where it is located, is the airport serving the province of Iloilo in the Philippines, including its capital city, Iloilo City, the regional center of the Western Visayas region. It opened its doors to commercial traffic on June 14, 2007, after a decade of planning and construction, replacing Mandurriao Airport in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, which had been in service for over seventy years. As a result, the new airport inherited its IATA and ICAO airport codes, as well as its position as the fourth-busiest airport in the Philippines, from its predecessor. It was the fifth-busiest airport in the Philippines in 2022. It is the first airport in both Western Visayas and the island of Panay to be built to international standards, and it is also considered to be the primary gateway into the region. It is classified as an international airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
The architecture of the Philippines reflects the historical and cultural traditions in the country. Most prominent historic structures in the archipelago are influenced by Austronesian, Chinese, Spanish, and American architectures.
Metropolitan Iloilo–Guimaras, also shortened as Metro Iloilo–Guimaras or simply MIG, is a metropolitan area in the Visayas in the Philippines. It consists of the highly urbanized city of Iloilo City; the regional agro-industrial center of Pavia; the municipalities of Cabatuan, Leganes, Oton, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara; and the neighboring island province of Guimaras, with its five municipalities of Jordan, Buenavista, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo, and Sibunag.
SM City Iloilo is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings. It is the 8th SM Supermall built by Henry Sy Sr. It is located along Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue in the district of Mandurriao in Iloilo City. It has a land area of 170,000 m2 (1,800,000 sq ft) and a total gross floor area of 181,657 m2 (1,955,340 sq ft).
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Iloilo Business Park (IBP), also known just as Megaworld among the locals, is a 72-hectare (180-acre) mixed-use master-planned community development in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, Philippines by Megaworld Corporation. It is located on the site of Iloilo's former airport, Mandurriao Airport, which the conglomerate acquired for 1.2 Billion Pesos from the Philippine national government. Megaworld is projected to pour in ₱25 Billion for the entire development in a span of years. It is an integrated township project featuring a commercial district, a lifestyle mall, office buildings catering to business process outsourcing firms, boutique and deluxe hotels, and a convention center.
The Iloilo River Esplanade is a 9.035-kilometre-long (5.614 mi) urban esplanade and linear park along the Iloilo River in Iloilo City, Philippines. It stretches on both sides of the river, from Carpenter's Bridge in Mandurriao and Molo districts to Muelle Loney (Drilon) Bridge in the City Proper and Lapuz districts. It is the longest linear park in the Philippines and was designed by landscape architect and PGAA Creative Design founder Paulo Alcazaren. The project is part of the Iloilo River Rehabilitation Project.
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Panay Railways Inc. is a government-owned and controlled corporation of the Philippines headquartered in La Paz, Iloilo City on the island of Panay. It is a subsidiary of Phividec Railways Inc. of the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation (Philvedec). The railway currently doesn't operate any trains but it leases the property that it owns and the revenue is used to defray the personnel and administrative costs incurred from looking after its assets.
APEC Philippines 2015 was the year-long hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings which concluded with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held on 18–19 November 2015 in Pasay, Metro Manila. It was the second time the Philippines hosted the summit, the first being in 1996.
The Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) is an art museum in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is the first museum in the Visayas and Mindanao dedicated to modern art.
Iloilo City is a conglomeration of former cities and towns, which are now the geographical or administrative districts (boroughs) composed of seven: Arevalo, City Proper, Jaro, La Paz, Lapuz, Mandurriao, and Molo. All administrative districts are divisions of the lone congressional district of Iloilo City, and each is composed of barangays (barrios), with a total of 180 city barangays.