NEW MASSSIVE CONGRESS CENTER OPENS IN ISTANBUL

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas attended the ribbon cutting ceremony of the center, which cost the Istanbul municipality some 330 million Turkish Liras.
The massive congress center is set to host on October 6-7 about 20,000 people during the 2009 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the IMF.
The congress center in built upon 120,000 square meters with 12 storeys. Seven of the storeys are underground on a 19,000 square meters land.
The center features advanced technology and simultaneous translation rooms and an auditorium that can hold 3,500 people. And there are five galleries and 1,000 offices that are 20 square meters wide, and also a parking lot for 850 vehicles.