IOC happy that Beijing is on schedule with Olympic preparations

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With just over 300 days to go until the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee says it is satisfied that preparations are well on schedule in host city Beijing.

"We are very happy with the progress," Kevan Gosper, assistant head of the IOC's coordination commission said Wednesday while on a visit to Beijing's Olympic stadium.

"They are right on schedule with the construction."

Construction on the 90,000-seater stadium is expected to be completed by the end of next March while the nearby swimming arena and other facilities are due to be ready by the end of the year.

Although the timetable for completion is ambitious, organizers remain confident that it can be met.

"It can be done," Sun Weijia, chief media officer for the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) said.

"The workers are working in shifts around the clock, all week long."

There are 12 venues being built from scratch, 11 are undergoing renovations while there are also eight temporary facilities.

While the IOC's Gosper expressed "concern" about air quality in Beijing, home to 17 million people, as well as the humid weather there in August, he remained confident that the traffic issue would be addressed in time.

"I don't foresee any problems with transportation," said Gosper.

City authorities have invested heavily in an urban rail system ahead of the Olympics with a new 27-kilometre-long line opening only this week.

By next year, the urban rail network will grow from its current 142km to 200km, linking up the Olympic centre in the process.

There had been huge media interest in next year's games, which run August 8-24, with around 5,600 journalists and photographers accredited by the IOC to cover the event. dpa lw sb gb