An Olympic Construction Project officer said Monday that a total of 42 commercial resident buildings in the Olympic Village are to go on sale in batches to the public.

Nearly 200 Olympic Village apartment units, the temporary residences where foreign athletes and officials are to stay during the Games, will be sold for an average price of 168,000 yuan (US$21,000) in the first phase of the project, an officer said in a city management broadcasting interview.

Located inside the Olympic Park, with the estimated construction acreage exceeding 370,000sq.m, the prospective community including 22 six-floor blocks and 20 nine-floor blocks in an identical architectural style; are to be transformed into a high-graded living community soon after the Games, according to the officer.

"In addition to the over 200 apartments in eight blocks, another 34 blocks will go on sale, but their price may go up compared to those already sold," the officer said,
"Purchasers won't be able to move in until after the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games are over, owing to the high demand for accommodation during the Beijing Olympic Games," he added.