officials At The Press Conference

    (September 20, 2005, Beijing) Construction of the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium will start by the end of September, shortly after the foundation stone waslaid for the Peking University Gymnasium on September 17, constructors of the Beijing Olympic venues announce today.

    With the official launch of the gymnasium at the Beijing University of Technology, all the 11 new competition venues that Beijing will have to build for the 2008 Olympic Games are under construction, officials from the Beijing '2008' Project Construction Headquarters Office, which oversees the construction of all the Olympic venues and other auxiliary facilities, made the announcement at a press conference held in the Beijing Olympic Media Centre.

    Based on the principles of 'safety, quality, construction time limit, function and cost',remarkable progress has been made in the construction of the Olympic venues. On-site safety, supervision and auditing of the construction projects have also been ensured.

    Since the second half of 2004, Beijing Municipality had made great efforts to fine-tune and optimize the layout of the Olympic venues and some design schemes for the venues, taking into consideration the following factors: 1. To ensure that such optimization and fine-tuning would meet the needs of the Olympic Games; 2. The after-Games use of these venues -- they are supposed to serve Beijing residents for their fitness, entertainment and leisure in the long run; 3. To make full use of the existing facilities; and 4. To use as many temporary venues, or overlays in the Olympic jargon, as possible instead of building permanent ones so that they will not be set aside after the Games. These measures have gained support from both the International Olympic Committee and the international federations of various sports.

    Of the 31 competition venues that will be used for the 26 Olympic sports to be held in Beijing, 11 are new ones, 11 are existing venues which need renovating or expanding, nine are overlays. Forty-one training venues and five facilities which are directly related to the Olympic Games will be needed. To ensure an easy access to the venues, 59 roads and three bridges will be built or renovated. In addition, the environment around the venues and roads will also be improved.

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    Backgrounder: Progress Made in Venue Construction

    1. National Stadium : Work is being done on its concrete structure

    2. National Aquatics Centre : Work on concrete structure has been

    completed; work on steel structure, secondary structure, and mechanical and

    electrical equipment is being done, membrane structure is being experimented

    3. Beijing Shooting Range Hall : Principal structure and secondary

    structure for the ammunition storage have been finished; Interior decoration is

    being done; work on the concrete principal structures of the qualifying

    competition halls and final competition hall has been finished, the steel structure

    for the roofs are being made and work on secondary structure is being done

    4. Laoshan Velodrome : Part of the concrete principal structure has

    been finished, steel racks for the roof and steel struts are being made, and

    preparations for installation are being made

    5. Wukesong Indoor Stadium : Work on the concrete floor has been

    finished; work is being done on the roof of the Basement One

    6. National Indoor Stadium : Basic earthwork is being done

    7. Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium : Basic

    earthwork is being done

    8. China Agriculture University Gymnasium : Basic

    earthwork is being done

    9. Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Cannoeing Park : The racing

    courses in the static water area are being dug, and the mound designs in the

    dynamic water area are being experimented

    10. Peking University Gymnasium : Construction officially began

    on September 17, 2005

    11. Fengtai Softball Field : One of the 11 venues that have to be

    renovated. Construction officially began at the end of July 2005; at present, basic

    earthwork for the palying field and auxiliary buildings has been finished

    12. Fencing Gymnasium (National Conference Centre) : One

    of the nine overlays to be built. Construction of the National Conference Centre is

    well underway

    13. National Conference Centre : Eighty per cent of the concrete

    pouring has been finished, in some part, work on vertical structure of the two

    underground levels has begun

    14. Digital Beijing Building : Basic earthwork is being done

    15. The Olympic Village : Basic earthwork is being done

    16. The Olympic Park : Basic earthwork is being done

    To learn more about BOCOG and the preparations for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, please surf:www.beijing2008.cn.