WA’s Premier Roger Cook made the announcement today at the World Travel and Tourism Council Summit currently taking place in Perth.
The Premier told more than 800 delegates – many of them international tourism heads and investors – on the summit’s opening day that the state government will spend $16.6 million to undertake the next planning phase of the project to extend PCEC towards the Swan River at Elizabeth Quay.
“We have the opportunity to create a new tourism and economic hub for Perth,” he said.
“The redevelopment can showcase Kings Park and the Swan River while providing new waterfront facilities, housing, tourism and hospitality venues, and thousands of new jobs.
“Attracting events, fostering innovation and boosting tourism is a key part of our vision to diversify the economy for WA’s future.”
The proposal is now in the Project Definition Phase (PDP) during which the state government will work with Wyllie and Brookfield, the leaseholders of the site who identified the redevelopment opportunity.
If successful, the project will create an iconic waterfront precinct on the Swan River, with a larger, world-class and highly competitive convention space to attract major business events to WA.
The existing convention centre building will be significantly refurbished to increase capacity and capability to attract new major business events, while development opportunities will be provided for a new premium hotel, residential apartments across the affordability and accessibility spectrum and commercial and innovation space.
PCEC was built in 2004 and is the oldest convention centre in Australia not to have had a major redevelopment.
Wyllie and Brookfield have the leasehold until 2039.
