(Yicai Global) Aug. 21 -- Greenland Group has bought seven prime land lots in Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province, for CNY16.4 billion (USD2.4 billion) to build the largest indoor exhibition area in the world, the real estate developer said today on its WeChat account.

Covering 2.4 square kilometers, it is the biggest land sale ever in Wuhan for single-project use.

The land will be used to build a convention and exhibition center with a total construction area of over 400 million square meters and will cost around CNY50 billion (USD7.2 billion), the Shanghai-based developer said.

The land lots are located in the Huangpi Airport Economic Development Zone near Wuhan Tianhe International Airport. Wuhan is China’s largest inland transportation hub with a dense railway network, five subway lines as well as a planned high-speed rail station.

The Hubei government has said it will invest CNY2.3 trillion (USD332.9 billion) in ten areas including transportation, infrastructure and industrial parks as part of its efforts to kick-start the economy ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic. The new exhibition center will be a benchmark project for Hubei’s recovery from the pandemic, Greenland added.

Greenland has recently earmarked convention centers as a vital strategic emerging sector. It has 12 exhibition complexes either built or under construction, with a total construction area of more than 4.7 million square meters, it said.

Editor: Kim Taylor