Beijing to Invest Over US$1.6bn in OlympicsThe Organizing Committee of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be formed by the end of this year to take up the work for fund raising, which is expected to exceed US$1.6 billion, says Tu Mingde, secretary-general of the Chinese Olympics Committee in Beijing, October 22. He calls for investors to cast their eyes on Beijing and achieve a win-win deal through cooperation with Beijing Olympics.Tu made the remark in a speech at a reward-granting ceremony of an election for outstanding sports activities in Hong Kong, saying there are close connections between Olympic Games and commercial activities and, as host city of 2008 Olympics, Beijing must merge itself into the developing of Olympic markets. According to agreements reached with International Olympic Committee (IOC), the 2008 Olympic joint development program, after being approved by IOC, will be launched on January 1, 2003, the earliest day possible. Beijing's successful Olympic bid, according to experts, will boost China's GDP up by 0.3 - 0.4 percent, including an annual 20 percent growth of tourism income totaling US$2 billion, and 1 million square meters house construction to provide jobs to 150 million people in the seven years to come. The holding of Beijing Olympic Games will also speed up city greening, environment control and scientific progress, Tu says. It is estimated that investment for the 2008 Olympics, including governmental aid, would exceed US$1.6 billion. By PD Online Staff Li Heng |
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