The grand maintenance project of the Potala Palace,the most holy shrine in Tibet, has been proceeding as planned with good quality and restoration of original style, said a management official on Wednesday.

Renovation of two sites has been approved and work on the 10 other sites in the palace is well in progress, said Qungtag, deputy chief with the palace management, at a small celebration party Wednesday.

Work has been finished on the side wall of the Qamqingtalhamo slope, a horse roadway in the west of the palace, and the Puncogduinam gate at the palace's foot, with an investment of more than 4 million yuan (about 480,000 U.S. dollars).

The repair of the two sites, once affected by the rainy season, is a little bit later than scheduled so as to ensure the quality and that the overall project goes without a hitch, said the official.

The basement of the red hall, in the upper part of the palace, has turned out to be the most arduous task for the skilled construction workers, as well as archaeologists and architects, acknowledged Qungtag.

Maintenance will also cover the spectacular frescos and the pagodas of the 8th and 9th Dalai Lamas.

The maintenance project is part of a program kicked off on June 26, 2002 with a budget of 330 million yuan (40 million US dollars) from the central government to help keep the 1,300-year-old Potala Palace, the Winter Palace of the Dalai Lamas, from being eroded by wind, rain and worms.

Also on the list for repair are the Norbug Linkha Park, the Summer Palace of the Dalai Lamas, and the Sagya Lamasery which contains numerous rare religious relics.

The entire work is expected to last for five years. The walls will be reinforced and some ruined palaces will be restored to their original looks. A new museum will be built to house relics.

It is also the second large-scale renovation on the Potala Palace in history after the first one in 1989 which cost 50 million yuan (6 million U.S. dollars) and took six years to complete.

The Potala Palace is often regarded as the unique, spectacular landmark in Lhasa. First built by the Tibetan King Songtsa Gambo in the 7th century during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the palace was extended during the 17th century by the Dalai Lama, who ruled Tibet from the 13-story building on the Red Hill 3,600 meters above sea level.

The Potala Palace features the essence of splendid ancient Tibetan architectural art and houses countless artifacts of ancient Tibet.