Peter Tallberg, Chairman of the IOC Athlete’s Commission, is visiting Changsha with six other IOC members, and when asked what Beijing 2008 should pay special attention to he expressed his concerns about the road congestion.
He told Xinhua, “one problem which we all realize now in Beijing would be traffic, so that’s one of the big problems for you”.
May new roads have been built and streets widened in recent years, but Beijingers are buying more cars. In rush hour it now takes three or four times longer to drive downtown.
Wu Ching-Kuo, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from Chinese Taipei said, “the problem can’t be settled only by road construction. Measures to control car driving or some limitations are also needed”.
The Beijing Municipal Traffic Commission has proposed a 10-point suggestion to try to alleviate the situation.
According to a report presented to the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress last September Beijing may raise the charges for license plates of private cars in the next few years. The city will also impose a so-called “road congestion fee” on private car owners.
Meanwhile IOC member Wu Ching-Kuo, who is also a member of the IOC coordination commission for the 2008 Games, said that Beijing has done an excellent job in preparing the venues and facilities for the 2008 Games.
He also liked the way Beijing invited ownership tenders worldwide for the construction and operation for the stadia.
Wu, who is in charge of the engineering and construction section of the coordination commission said, “I’d rather say what the Beijing organizers are doing is a milestone in the Olympic history. They ask the bidders rather than the government to finance, construct and operate the stadiums after the 2008 Games are over, which saves the government a lot of worries about the finance and the maintenance of the stadiums. And the most important thing is that the large stadiums won’t become ‘white elephants’ after the Games”.
Beijing has invited international and local companies to lodge ownership bids for Olympic venues and facilities, including the Olympic Village, National Swimming Center and the Wukesong Cultural Sports Center. Tenders will be awarded this month. The winning companies will be granted a 30-year right to operate the stadiums.
