Competition facilities construction making substantial progress
Substantial progress is being made on the construction of sports venues for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games and after the global event has been held, the venues will be served as multipurpose facilities, local officials said.
Construction work completed on the underground structures for the National Speed Skating Oval in late June, and the venue is expected to be finished by the end of next year.
Dubbed the “Ice Ribbon”, the speed skating venue is situated next to the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics tennis facility at the Beijing Olympic Park.
Covering an area of 81,000 square meters, the venue will have two floors below ground and three floors above and will seat 12,000 people.
With a 12,000-sq-m ice surface, one of the largest in Asia, the venue stands out for its sleek look, which features 22 light ribbons surrounding its exterior to symbolize the speed of the sport and the year the Games will be held.
When it is put into operation, the venue will be able to host long- and short-track speedskating, figure skating, hockey and curling competitions.
A total of 14 Olympic gold medals will be awarded in the venue during the 2022 Games.
Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co and a consortium of winning bidders — Beijing Capital Development Holding (Group), Beijing Urban Construction Group, Beijing Uni-Construction Group and China National Sports Group — founded a joint venture to invest in and manage the speed skating venue project in a publicprivate partnership.
The project has involved funding, resources and operational expertise from multiple private shareholders since construction began, to share costs and diversify future operational plans.
Wu Xiaonan, vice-president of Beijing State-owned Assets Management and Party chief and chairman of Beijing National Speed Skating Oval Operation Co, said: “The future plans of the multipurpose Olympic venue will focus on competitions, mass sports, cultural leisure, exhibitions and sport public welfare sectors.”
Another important Olympics venue — the winter sports training center — is located in Zhongguancun South Street in Haidian district.
The underground area of the 33,200-sq-m venue was completed in mid-June, with the whole complex expected to open by the end of 2019.
When the venue is completed, it will become China’s first standard curling rink, not only used for professional training and competitions of ice hockey, figure skating, curling and speed skating, but also open to locals for winter sports.