Beijing, Jan 11: The frantic construction in Beijing won't stop, not even for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Beijing Olympic officials acknowledged on Wednesday that the city's many other construction projects will continue during the 16-day Olympics despite fears they might add to choking air pollution and further clog the city's car-jammed highways.
Chinese officials said they expected nearly all the Olympic venues to be completed before the end of the 2007, with more than 20 test events set for later this year on many of those sites.
However at a news conference in Beijing, deputy director of Project Management for the Beijing Olympics Xu Bo, acknowledged reports of cost overruns on some Olympic building projects, with a few contractors even reported to be facing bankruptcy.
Despite this Xu said he was confident that the companies selected for the big projects would be able to fulfill their contracts.
"It is true that certain construction companies are having problems with the fact that their actual spending on certain venues is beyond the expectation in their bid, and we are paying close attention to this issue. However, we are confident there will be no problems, because all the construction companies selected for the construction work of all the big projects for the Olympics, are first class enterprises in our country and we have done a strict inspection of their capability of implementing the contracts and they all passed our examination of qualification.": Xu Bo, deputy director, department of Project Management for 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Executive deputy director of Project Management for 2008 Beijing Olympics Sui Zhenjiang, said that construction projects in the Chinese capital will not be stopped for the Olympics because every project has its own economic background and will be developed naturally.
"The construction projects in Beijing will continue to be developed both before the Olympics and after it and they would not be stopped for the opening ceremony of the Olympics because every project has its own economic background and will be developed naturally. However, before the Olympics, or during the process of the Olympics, we will conduct strict management to some projects in specific areas such as the places near the Olympic venues so as to make the air quality of Beijing better.": Sui Zhenjiang, executive deputy director, department of Project Management for 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But Sui gave no details about the measures the local government will be taken on this issue.
Beijing's skyline is dotted with thousands of construction cranes, and Olympic building is just a small slice of the city's makeover.
On the street, cement trucks pour concrete around the clock as China's booming economy helps fund a massive architectural makeover for the capital.
Bureau Report