The State-owned centre on Spencer Dock will employ 250 people on a full-time basis.
View images of the centre
The CCD suffered numerous delays including court challenges and abandoned public processes to select a developer.
The centre, with its distinctive rounded glass front, can accommodate up to 8,000 delegates and includes a 2,000-seat auditorium and banqueting facilities for up to 3,000 people.
It was built by the Spencer Dock Development Company, led by Treasury Holdings, and will be operated as a public-private partnership.
The operators say they hope it will double the value of business tourism to €1bn a year by 2013.
Those efforts get under way today when hundreds of people from around the world - who decide where conventions will be held - are hosted by the centre.
The Convention Centre Dublin was officially opened by Taoiseach Brian Cowen at midday.
