Plan Promises Great Beijing, Greater Games

Leading engineers and experts in China will be engaged in a joint quest for key technological breakthroughs in the next few years to give Beijing's woeful urban pollution and traffic jams a complete overhaul in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games.

Focus will be put on solutions for sandstorm defence, drainage, water conservation, clean energy supplies, intelligent public transport networks and management, as well as up-to-date digital applications to offer Internet access, virtual mock sports training sessions and anti-drug checks.

Athletes, visitors and residents in Beijing will be the biggest beneficiaries of the technological drive, the cornerstone of the Action Plan for a Scientific Olympics, which was initiated Friday.

The strategic plan includes nine governmental departments involved in sports, science and education, top official think-tanks and the city hall of Beijing.

Xu Guanhua, minister of Science and Technology in charge of the plan, asked the top-notch experts Friday to submit their initiatives by the end of next month when they can be followed by debates and feasibility studies.

A panel group made up of authorities in the fields of science, technology, sports, the arts and management will be formed in the next few months to evaluate the initiatives before they are acted upon.

"Technology renovation will be the key force behind the preparations for the 2008 Olympics. The launch of the plan will help produce up-to-date solutions to the major problems concerning the Games,'' said Xu.

Beijing has been notified abroad for its urban pollution, including murkiness, smog, sandstorms and exhaust emissions.

There is also concern over the capital city's heavy traffic congestion, opaque transportation controls and its insufficiently developed public transportation network.

But Lin Wenyi, vice-mayor of Beijing, said that the city will pump the bulk of its financial budget in the next seven years into infrastructure upgrades, environmental clean-up and protection of culture relics.

More than 180 billion yuan (US$21.7 billion) will be poured into utilities projects including the improvement of the public transport network, urban landscaping and the removal of shabby neighbourhoods, while over 46 billion yuan (US$5.5 billion) will be designated for environmental cleanup over the next few years.

While he is sure that the action plan will further boost Beijing's crackdown on environmental woes and traffic malaise, Wang Dingzuo, vice-director of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the action plan should also tackle the chronic issue of water shortage, an acute problem facing the over 12 million people who live in the city.

"A task force should be set up to survey Beijing's water resources and to develop the technology to facilitate the national project of diverting the abundant water supply of South China to make up for the shortage of water in northern regions, including Beijing.''

Wang said the engineer pool of his institute, a leading engineering research institute in China, can be tapped for the research. The central government has given the institute the responsibility for the study of China's water resources and related problems.

Zhu Dabao, a senior engineer in the natural sciences said that initiatives should also be submitted on weather forecast accuracy, construction safety, environmentally friendly solutions, and architectural styles that are in harmony with Beijing's culture.

Beijing beat out arch-rivals Toronto and Paris for the 2008 Olympics. Beijing has pledged to give the world a green, high-tech and people friendly Games.

Liu Qi, mayor of Beijing, has vowed to make the Beijing Games a wonderful show for the world community that will mark a unique legacy in the history of the Olympics.






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