Beijing has mobilized an army of 20,000 construction workers to avoid the last-minute rush that preceded the Athens 2004 Games and make sure the venues are completed well before the start of the 2008 Games.
A 1,200-strong workforce has finished the vast foundations and is busily setting steel and concrete for basement levels six months after ground was first broken at the basketball stadium, part of the sprawling Wukesong Sports and Culture Centre, reports Reuters.
It is one of 11 new arenas designed for the Games. Beijing has begun work on 10 and will launch construction on the last one by the end of this month.
The Wukesong stadium is scheduled for completion in 2007 and will feature high-tech water recycling, solar powered equipment, one main basketball court, two side courts, and seating for 18,000 spectators.
By 2008 Beijing expects to have spent at least $2 billion on Olympic venues. More than $496 million on building the showcase “bird’s nest” National Stadium and “water cube” swimming centre, and an estimated $40 billion on improving the “creaky” infrastructure and modernizing the city ahead of the 2008 Games.
After the Games the whole complex could be used to host exhibitions, professional sports events and concerts.
Meanwhile, in the city’s Xicheng District, 400 new environmental workers have been given orders to enforce what local officials call “the first public toilet management standard in Beijing’s history”.
No more than two flies or two pieces of discarded trash or waste are now allowed in Beijing’s public toilets at any given time.
Since winning the 2008 Games, Beijing has been working hard to improve toilet cleanliness.
Almost 1,100 public toilets across the city have been upgraded, according to the Beijing Times.
Some new public toilets in popular tourist spots are even ranked by a star system, with the cleanest and most comfortable getting four stars.
