Both Chinese and international investors will be on an equal
footing to win contracts for the US$14 billion worth of projects
for the Beijing
2008 Olympic Games through an open bidding system, an official
said yesterday.
Ping Yongquan, former director of the Planning Bureau of Beijing,
said the municipal authorities and relevant central government
departments are making preliminary preparations for the invitation
of bids from around the world.
He
said that the rules for the open bidding will be set finally by the
Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee (BOGOC) to be set up by
the end of this year.
Under Beijing's plan for the 2008 Olympic Games, the BOGOC will
contribute US$40 million to the construction of the US$480 million
Olympic Village and US$100 million to the building of venues worth
a total of US$1.6 billion.
The remaining part of the costs will be covered by the government
and Chinese and foreign institutional and individual investors, who
will also invest US$3.6 billion in building roads and railways and
US$8.6 billion in environmental protection projects.
Mayor Liu Qi said that in order to stage the best ever Olympic
Games in history in 2008, Beijing will build the most advanced
venues and facilities in the world.
Beijing has planned 32 venues for the 2008 Olympics. Among them, 13
are already in existence but will be renovated. The other 19 are
yet to be built.
Ping, also deputy secretary-general of the Beijing
2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee, said that Beijing will invite
global bids for the design, construction and management of most of
the Olympic venues and the Olympic Village to ensure that they are
up to top standards in every respect.
He
said Beijing is considering several options for utilizing
international resources to build and operate the sports venues,
including joint ventures, technological co-operation and transfer
of management rights.
Bid Committee experts have already travelled to Australia, North
America, Europe and Malaysia to take advantage of foreign
experience in management of the whole process from design and
construction to operation of sports venues.
In
order to stage an excellent Olympic Games, Beijing will build more
than 100 kilometres of metro railways and complete 20 major
environmental protection projects in the next few years, including
replacing coal with natural gas, controlling car exhaust emissions,
afforestation, relocation of polluting industries, sewage treatment
and waste recycling.
Local observers say that the projects directly related to the
Olympics account for only a small part of the business
opportunities Beijing will offer to overseas investors in the
coming few years.
Ping said that a number of international companies have contacted
the committee to express their interest in participating in the
Olympics-related construction projects. The companies are mainly
from Australia, the United States and Europe.
The picture above shows a computer rendering of the Olympic Green,
the main site of the 2008 Olympic Games.
(Xinhua News Agency 07/25/2001)