Both Chinese and international investors will have an opportunity to bid for contracts for the $14 billion (U.S.) projects for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games through an open bidding system, said Ping Yongquan, former director of the city planning bureau of Beijing. He told Xinhua that the municipal authorities and relevant central government departments are making preliminary preparations for invitations for global bidding.
The rules of the open bidding will be decided by the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee (BOGOC) to be set up by the end of this year.
Under Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games’ plan, BOGOC will contribute $40 million (U.S.) to the construction of the $480 million Olympic Village and $100 million to that of the $1.6 billion venues.
The remaining part will be covered by the government and Chinese and foreign institutional and individual investors who will also invest $3.6 billion in building roads and railways and $8.6 billion in environmental protection projects.
Ping, who is deputy secretary-general of Beijing’s bid committee (BOBICO), said that Beijing will invite global bids for the design, construction and management of most of the Olympic venues and the Olympic Village so as to ensure that they are up to top standards in all aspects.
He said Beijing is considering several options for utilizing international resources to build and operate the sports venues, including joint ventures, technological cooperation, and transfer of management rights.
BOBICO experts have already traveled to Australia, North America, Europe and Malaysia to learn foreign experience in management of the whole process from design, to construction to operation of sports venues.
Post-Olympic utilization will be taken into account in the design of the Olympic venues and the Olympic Village.
The construction of all Olympic venues have to be completed by 2006 and investment in urban development, telecommunications, transport and public utilities will total $23 billion in the next five years. According to national and municipal regulations for government procurement, Beijing has to offer a large part of the projects for public bidding.
Ping said that so far, a number of international companies have contacted BOBICO to express their interest in participating in the Olympics-related construction projects. The companies are mainly from Australia, the United States and Europe.
