Specialized exhibitions will be held at Shahr-e-Aftab (Sun City) Exhibition Complex in south Tehran starting this year (from March 21), and the annual Tehran International Book Fair also be held at that venue from next year, director general of the Investment and Public Participation Organization of Tehran Municipality Seyyed Isa Ahmadi said.
The new complex is in the vicinity of Imam Khomeini Mausoleum and is being constructed “with the aim of ending the omnipresent traffic chaos in the metropolis whenever exhibitions are held at the Tehran International Permanent Fairgrounds, Mehr News Agency quoted him as saying.
Built over an area of 158 hectares, the complex is close also to Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) on the Tehran-Qom Highway. “The complex consists of three main sections, namely exhibition areas, leisure and resting places, and buildings (trade and conference centers, hotels, administrative buildings, parking lots).”
An-8000sqm two-storey ‘National Hall’ is being constructed on the northern flank of the complex. The hall will link other halls to each other and is the entrance to the exhibition complex. It is built of a huge structure with 100 columns each 16-meters high and symbolizes the world famous Persepolis ruins in Shiraz (south Iran), which also is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Highlighting the importance of the Sun City Complex as the largest of its kind in Asia after China and Japan, Ahmadi said, “Besides benefiting from Iranian architecture, one of the engineering consultants of the project is the German company ‘Gerkan, Marg and Partners’ (GMP) which is among the top 27 consultancies in the world.”
Other Facilities
Pointing to the construction of two trade centers and three hotels--two five stars - he noted that the centers would function also as permanent exhibition sites for some prominent brands, and the hotels will offer quality services to both exhibitors and visitors.
Parking lots have capacity for 7500 cars and entry/exit of vehicles will be from three location of the complex to avoid traffic congestion during peak times. Seventy hectares of the site is covered by green spaces including trees, plants and flowers. A mosque is also planned.
Two metro lines, Tehran-South Station and the Persian-Gulf Highway Station will link the exhibition site to the city’s transport network.
Snarling traffic on almost all highways and surrounding streets during exhibition time in north Tehran and lack of appropriate subway connections to the permanent exhibition site compelled city and state officials to search for a new location compatible with world standards.
Planning for the new complex commenced in 2001 while construction began almost a decade later in 2010 by the Tehran Municipality in collaboration with Yadman Sazeh Engineering Company.
