Gandhinagar, India — The Plastindia trade show, India's largest plastics fair, is moving out of Gujarat and returning to New Delhi for its next edition in 2021, according to the head of the Plastindia Foundation, which organizes the event.
The show will move back to its previous location, a rebuilt Pragati Maidan fairgrounds.
"Plastindia 2021 is moving back to Pragati Maidan, New Delhi," said K.K. Seksaria, president of the Mumbai-based Plastindia Foundation, in an interview. "Construction of [the] all-new show venue is in full-swing and a major portion of the venue would be ready by August 2019."
The show, which takes place every three years, moved its 2015 edition to the city of Gandhinagar, in the state of Gujarat. Its most recent edition, in February, took place there too.
The move had been controversial in 2015. The abrupt timing drew questions from some of Plastindia's international partners, including K Fair organizer Messe Düsseldorf.
As well, some Delhi-based exhibitors filed a lawsuit at the time, alleging pressure from allies of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who ran the Gujarat government before taking over the national government.
Critics argued that hotel capacity and transportation options in Gandhinagar and nearby Ahmedabad were much more limited than in Delhi.
But organizers had said that Pragati Maidan was very outdated and squeezed for space, and they felt Gandhinagar's newly built Mahatma Mandir showgrounds could offer an improvement. They also noted that Gujarat is India's largest state for plastics manufacturing.
India's government is spending 22.54 billion rupees ($350 million) to redevelop Pragati Maidan. It will double exhibition space to almost 1.29 million square feet. The first phase is expected to be complete by May 2019.