Theatre Will Meet Budget: Architect

French architect Paul Andreu said Monday work on his controversial Grand National Theatre was expected to restart in September after design changes brought the project within budget.

"We should have the definitive green light around mid-August, with construction set to restart in September," he said.

Mr Andreu handed over the final design changes to the construction committee on Sunday, eliminating a 25 per cent overrun on the initial budget of 2.6 billion yuan (HK$2.4 billion) for the theatre, to be situated in central Beijing.

Next week, Mr Andreu is expected to hand in the last financial evaluation to the State Development Planning Commission, which will then make final deliberations.

"I'm confident enough that the financial evaluation will fall within the budget," he said.

Building staff said construction work had stopped for more than three weeks while the Government heard the opinions of architects and experts.

There were few signs of life at the sprawling site west of the Great Hall of the People. "Work stopped at the end of June," said a member of the staff.

"The migrant workers who were here have gone to other projects in Beijing. They could come back at any time, tomorrow or in several months."

He said the stoppage was due to strong objections to Mr Andreu's avant-garde design, in the shape of a bubble made of titanium and glass.

He said that members of the committee responsible for the construction are holding meetings in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing to listen to opinions of architects and scholars.

Last month, 49 members of the Chinese Academy of Science and China Engineering Academy and 108 architects sent petitions to the Government opposing the design, saying it was too expensive, wrongly conceived and not suitable for the site.

The authorities are expected to reach a decision soon because they have already approved the initial project and all that is left is to approve the most recent changes.

Modifications to the project were limited to reducing underground technical and rehearsal rooms, while leaving the three public auditoriums untouched.





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