"DEVELOPING BEIJING FOR THE OLYMPICS - The practicalities and Implications"

Event organized by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
5 June 2002
Radisson SAS Hotel - Beijing

Follows our (unofficial) translation of the speech by vice mayor Liu Jingmin of the Beijing Municipality.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am hereby making a presentation of the progress of the preparatory work for the 2008 Olympic Games on behalf of BOCOG. My presentation will focus on the development plan of Olympic Venues and the infrastructure development which will be going on in the following 6 years in Beijing.

I. Development of Olympic Venues and Related Facilities

1. Olympic Venues and the Layout

37 venues and 59 training sites will be used for Olympic competitions. 32 of the venues are in Beijing and 5 of which outside of the city in Qingdao, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao. Of the 32 venues in Beijing, 19 will be newly-constructed (including 6 temporary sites) and 13 are existing facilities to be renovated or extended. The venues mainly centers in four areas. They are the Olympic Green, containing 13 venues, Wukesong Culture and Sports Center including 3 venues, the University Area and the North Scenic Spot Area harboring 6 venues. The other four stadiums to be renovated are also located in the city.

2. Plan and Design of the two centers

The Olympic Green and Wukesong Culture and Sports Center are the two areas where the construction of the venues will be mostly centered. Taking into full consideration the funds, post-game use and the long-term development of the city, we make a re-evaluation of the function of these two areas.

The Olympic Green, supplemented by the venues and well-developed service facilities for commercial and cultural activities (like Capital Youthís Palace, Urban Planning Exhibition Hall and Chinese Acrobatic Performance), covers an area of 2.16 million square meters. In the planning of the Olympic Green, we will bear in mind the long-term development of the city and the needs of the citizens for material and cultural life, making it a multi-functional public center for sports, meetings, exhibitions, entertainment and shopping, with broad spaces and landscaped surroundings.

One permanent stadium and two temporary stadiums will be built for Olympic Games in Wukesong Culture and Sports Center. This center will be built into a main place for the inhabitants in west of Beijing to have the sport, entertainment and cultural activities. Compared to the original plan submitted during the bidding process, the cultural and sports facilities for civil use covering an area of 50,000 sq. meters and commercial service facilities with an area of 100,000 sq. meters will be added, with the total area up to 200,000 sq.meters.

3. Basic principle:

1) In planning and designing the venues, we will give full consideration to both the Olympic competitions and post-Games usage.

2) We will keep frugality in mind in the development of the venues. Existing facility that can be adapted or extended for Olympic purpose will be used instead of new ones, and temporary venues will be built in place of permanent ones.

3) We will create masterpieces of sports facilities that reflect the integration of construction technologies, architectural art and environmental protection and fully embody the concept of sustainable development, leaving a unique Olympic legacy to the capital city.

4. Strategic Phases of the venue construction

Pre-preparation Phase -- from now to June 2003. During this phase, the General Plan of Beijing Olympic Venues and the plan for the two areas (The Olympic Green and Wukesong Culture and Sports Center) will be formulated; the Engineering Management Department to oversee the project construction will be established; The tendering and bidding work for the project will be carried out; the determination of the individual architectural plan and the preparation of the shop drawings.

Development Phase -- from July 2003 to June 2006. During this period, the construction of the Olympic venues and other facilities will be in full swing. The big challenge that we will have to be confronted with is the construction of the Olympic Green. Due to the complexity of the project and the works that is simultaneously going on on a few sites, a high standard of the construction management will be required. During this period, BOCOG will complete the initial operation plan of the Olympic Games.

Improvement and Operation Phase -- from July 2006 to the end of 2007. During this phase, all the venues and facilities, which fully meet the requirements of the Games, will be in place. Examination, improvement and adaptation will be made to the venues; tests event will be conducted to ensure smooth operation; and all services will be available.

II. infrastructure development and basic requirements of the urban management

In recent years, Beijing saw a period of rapid development and displays a more modernized urban image. To host the 28^th Olympic Games provides more opportunities for this ancient and cultural city for its further development. During the preparation period, more efforts will be made in the development of infrastructure and culture like the improvement in the ecological environment, traffic planning, and telecommunication facilities to create a more convenient, speedy, comfortable and safe condition for the Olympic Games.

We will work for a considerable improvement in ecological environment of the city by greatly enlarging the forest coverage, improving the quality of air and drinking water and accelerating the construction of the green ecological shelters for the capital. In the year of 2007, the forest coverage in the whole city will reach 50%. More strict management standards will be applied to prevent the air pollution; more effective measures will be adopted to improve the rational utilization of the water resources and the management of the solid waste disposal.

In addition, in urban transport development and management, the key projects include: renovation and extension of Beijing Capital International Airport to further expand the transport capacity; the development of the urban rail transport network including subways; the construction of the ring roads and expressways like ìfifth ringsî and ìsixth ringsî will be accelerated.

III. Development of Information and Telecommunication Systems

While applying IT extensively to urban development to build a "digital Beijing", we will focus on the "digital Olympics" program and the building of telecommunication infrastructure and network system, to create a favorable IT environment and provide excellent information services. By 2008, information services will be inexpensive, rich in content, free of language barrier, and personalized and available for anyone, at anytime and anywhere.

IV. Cultural Environment Development

In cultural environment development, the following efforts will be made to fully exhibit the achievements of traditional Chinese culture, and the rich cultural heritage of Beijing:

1. construction of some important and typical cultural facilities;
2. construction of some theme park and streets which display the historical and cultural features of Beijing to give a sculptural view adaptive to the urban characteristics of Beijing;
3. Large electric screen will be built in some important public places such as the center of the city, the airport, the railway station, the Olympic Green and Business Center;
4. Special attention will be given to the protection of the historical and cultural heritage of the City

Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks to the strong support of all the Chinese people and our foreign friends, Beijing was awarded the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games. I believe that in the preparation for the Olympic Games in the following 6 years, we will be supported and assisted by our friends again. Under the support of the Chinese Government, world wide friends and Chinese People, a best-ever Olympic Games in history Olympic Games in the history will be staged in Beijing.

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