Construction work has finally begun on a two-year enlargement project at China's National Museum at the heart of its capital, the contractor said on Tuesday.

The huge reconstruction plan for the museum was announced at the beginning of 2007, but it has taken more than 12 months to dismantle and move out all the 620,000 items in the collection.

Upon completion of the project, in March 2010, the expanded museum will cover 191,900 square meters after new buildings are built eastwards, according to Beijing Urban Construction Group Co. Ltd.

The south, north and west wings of the existing buildings, which cover nearly 35,000 square meters, will be repaired and reinforced, infrastructural systems will be updated, and multi-media and digital technologies will be installed to adapt the museum to public needs.

The museum will have seven floors, including two underground. Its architectural style will be preserved, according to the blueprint.

The project will cost nearly 1.5 billion yuan (211 million U.S. dollars).

The museum, standing to the east of the Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing, was built in 1959 as one of 10 landmark buildings erected to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 12, 2008)