Construction work for 2008 Olympics in Beijing on track

Oct 11, 2007, 16:13 GMT

Beijing - With less than one year to go until the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, organizers say construction work on the sports facilities in China's capital are proceeding according to plan.

'We are very happy with the progress. They are right on schedule with the construction,' said the vice president of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) coordination commission, Kevan Gosper, during a visit to the Olympic Stadium, nicknamed 'bird's nest,' and other facilities.

Construction for the 91,000-spectator stadium with its unusual, three dimensional bowl shape, so designed to allow optimal air circulation during the expected hot weather, will be complete by the end of March next year.

But the neighbouring water sports complex, lovingly called the 'water cube,' as well as the other facilities are expected to already be completed by year's end.

The plan may sound very ambitious, but the organizers are confident that the schedule can be kept.

'It can be done,' asserted Sun Weijia, chief of media operations at the organizing committee.

'The workers labour in shifts around the clock, seven days per week,' he added.

The 17,000-spectator water sports stadium will receive a specially designed, hi-tech ventilation system to prevent water condensation and also will be fitted with a transparent membrane as its outer wall.

The media interest in the Games has beaten all records. Some 5,600 journalists and photographers were accredited by the IOC to cover the events, more than during any of the previous Olympic Games.

However, the IOC has also voiced concerns about the expected hot and humid weather that typically prevails in Beijing in August, as well as the smog in the 17-million-population metropolis, according to Gosper.

Road traffic restriction trials in August this year only slightly improved the air pollution, but at least resulted in much better traffic flow.

Gosper is convinced that the measures, if rigorously maintained during the Games, will help to alleviate the otherwise daily traffic congestion.

'I don't foresee any problems with transportation,' he said.

The capital's long-neglected subway network also will be expanded prior to the Olympics.

Beijing's mayor Wang Qishan saw the inauguration of a new 27-kilometre subway line this week as 'a sign of [our] determination to give priority to the development [of the city's] public transport infrastructure.'

By next year, the subway lines will be extended from the current 142 kilometres to 200 kilometres to provide access to all Olympic sports facilities.

The organisers have also received accolades for the athlete's accommodations.

'The athletes will be more than pleased with the Olympic Village, which offers nice rooms with ample space and good comfort,' said Gerd Graus, an official German observer of the proceedings.