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)