Second-stage bid for the construction of the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Centre has been launched when bidding documents were handed out on June 20 to the four bidders who had passed evaluation of pre-qualifications.

The Wukesong Cultural and Sports Centre consists of a basketball hall and auxiliary facilities for mass sports, cultural, commercial and entertaining activities. The 18,000-seated stadium, with a space floor of 35,000 square metres, is set to be the venue for the basketball competitions in 2008. After the Olympic Games, the centre will become a locale for cultural activities, leisure, sports and shopping in the western part of the city.

In line with pre-set procedures, construction of the Olympic venues will openly invites bids worldwide. The first-stage qualification evaluation and intent collection in relation to the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Centre was finished in February 2003. The four bidders that were allowed for the second-round bid are all consortia made up of companies from China, the US, Great Britain, Denmark and Australia. The conceptual design created jointly by Swiss company Burckhardt+PartnerAG and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design & Research will be released by mid-July. The Beijing Municipal Government will formulate supportive policy for land use and auxiliary infrastructure.

The second-stage bidding documents, in five volumes, contain a notice to the bidders; related contracts and agreements (namely, agreement on the development and agreement on the use of the basketball stadium); specifications and general plan for the design of the stadium; initial construction plan and other references.

Bidders should submit their designs and related documents to the Olympic project bidding agent office under the Beijing Municipal Development and Planning Commission no late than August 15, 2003. Evaluation result will be announced by the end of September. The bid-winner, as the legal people for the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Centre project, will be in charge of the investment, construction, operation and management of the project.

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