Hall after hall

A year after the fire which the day before the opening of the International Defence Industry Exhibition, 30th August 2009, consumed one of the halls of Targi Kielce, this facility of the Kielce fair organizer, having been rebuilt, will be officially put into use. It will provide the venue for the 18th International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO). Participation in the opening ceremony to be held on 6th September has been confirmed by President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, and Minister of National Defence, Bogdan Klich. The honourable guests will watch a unique dynamic demonstration, the first show of this kind ever to be held in Poland, performed by the 17th Wielkopolska Mechanized Brigade.

“It was just three weeks ago when a great dance and music show, "Chopin4", featuring artists from across the world, marked our opening of a hall which offers 6,000 square metres of exhibition space and is 12 metres high,” says President of the Management Board of Targi Kielce, Andrzej Mochoń. “Two performances being recorded by TVP attracted an audience of 4,000. The new hall gives us an opportunity to extend the scope of our activity; organize large-scale conferences, events, concerts to be attended by thousands of people. This hall is located next to another one, which was developed within 4 months, having been rebuilt after a fire which broke out last year. This is an impressive achievement, with the Polimex-Mostostal company, the general contractor, having successfully implemented both the facilities.”

The Kielce exhibition centre has embarked upon an investment project aimed at the further development of its infrastructure, its value amounting to almost PLN 170 million. The facilities which have been built to date include an entrance terminal, new halls - E and the rebuilt after the fire hall F. The construction of a conference centre with a seating capacity of 1,000 will start in a month. The extension of the premises of Targi Kielce is being carried out as part of the project "Modernization and Development of the Infrastructure of Targi Kielce As an International Exhibition and Conference Centre” within "Action III.2 Infrastructure of Conference and Exhibition Tourism of the Operational Programme the Development of Eastern Poland in 2007-2013". Last year's results obtained by the Company put it among eastern Europe's three top fair organizers.

Next Monday, 6th September, it will also be the hall rebuilt after the fire and modernized according to the latest standards required of European exhibition centres to be the venue for the four-day-long International Defence Industry Exhibition, ranked among the three leading trade fairs of this kind in Europe. This year's MSPO will receive twenty foreign delegations, six of them including defence ministers (Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia and Peru) and three being presided by undersecretaries of state. The exhibition halls will be used by 360 companies from 25 countries.

An exhibit supposed to attract enormous attention is the "Polish Light Tank" - Fire Support Vehicle based on the 21st century combat platform. It is a fruit of the hard and extensive work that has been carried out by engineers and researchers as well as by all those creating the manufacturing potential of the Polish defence industry. The same as in previous years, MSPO features an Exhibition of the Polish Armed Forces. Visitors will have an opportunity to view the latest armaments and military equipment used by the Land Forces. Products will also be displayed by 20 British companies which will take part in the National Exhibition of Great Britain. The MSPO exhibition has, to date, been accompanied by National Exhibitions of Germany, France, Israel, Sweden, Vysehrad Group countries.

The visitors are also given opportunities to watch military equipment in operation: armoured personnel carriers Rosomak, explosions, combat and medical helicopters, gunfire, and dogs.

This year the dynamic presentation has been prepared by the 17th Wielkopolska Mechanized Brigade, with Major Grzegorz Kaliciak – commander of the legendary defence of the City Hall in Karbala, Iraq, in 2004, five years later chosen in a popular vote organized by “Polska Zbrojna” magazine as the “Soldier of the Year” – being in charge of the event. Soldiers of the "seventeen" will show, among other things, the operation of an ambushed platoon, helicopters providing fire support to the assaulted patrol, evacuation of a wounded soldier with a helicopter being used.

The exhibition is accompanied by seminars and conferences organized by partner institutions. The same as in previous years, a meeting to be attended by vice-ministers of national defence, economy, the treasury as well as by representatives of the Polish defence industry has been scheduled to take place on the second day of MSPO. The fair programme also includes a visit by military attachés accredited to Poland, with a shooting competition, organized under the auspices of the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the Police, being part of it.