Construction on the Olympic venues is progressing smoothly with work already under way on 20 of the 31 Beijing-based sites for the 2008 Games, officials said yesterday.

Work also began on five auxiliary facilities and one training ground last year.

A total of 17,000 workers are being employed at all of the Olympic sites that are under construction.

The two main venues of the 2008 Olympic Games the National Stadium, which cost 3.03 billion yuan (US$377.8 million) and the National Aquatics Centre, costing 1.02 billion yuan (US$125.8 million) already have their main structures in place.

Renovation programmes will be launched this year on eight existing sports venues and 18 training centres, while 59 roads and three bridges will be either built or renovated to ensure access to sites.

The environment around the venues and roads will also be improved.

All the competition venues for the 2008 Games will be in place by the end of 2007, according to organizers.

A total of 37 competition venues will be used in the country for the 2008 Games, including 14 brand new ones, 14 existing facilities that need renovation and upgrading, and nine temporary venues.

In another development, major forestation efforts will be taken in the Olympic Green, a theme park specially created for the Games, around sports venues, and along roads that connect the venues and downtown, said Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan recently.

Source: Xinhua