The public tender for major 2008 Olympic venues and relevant construction projects has been completed as two successful bidders signed up the contracts in Beijing Saturday.

A bidding combo, made up of 11 Chinese and overseas companies, won the tender for the National Gymnasium and the Olympic Athletes' Village, while the bid of the Convention Center went to another consortium, consisting of two local enterprises Beijing North Star Industrial Ltd. and Beijing Real Estate Group Ltd.

Beijing Vice Mayor Liu Jingmin said Saturday's signing ceremony signals the successful completion of the public tender for the 2008 Olympics projects.

The Beijing Olympic organizers have also finished the tender for four other major Olympic projects, including the National Swimming Center, the National Stadium, the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Complex, and the Olympic Aquatic Park

These projects demand a total investment of about 20.5 billion yuan (US$2.48 billion), 85 percent of which will be raised through marketing mechanism.

"The construction of four main stadiums will start this December, and most of the projects will get underway next year. All of them will be finished by the end of 2006, " said Liu, also vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2003)