Guangzhou is seeking domestic and overseas investment for the construction of Asian Games venues.

Gan Xin, director of the Guangzhou Municipal Planning Commission, expressed hope at an investment fair in Hong Kong on Saturday that financial groups in Hong Kong would participate in the construction of seven projects to be finished by the year 2010. The seven projects will be completed in time for the opening of the 2010 Asian Games in the city.

The seven landmark buildings include the city's opera house, library, museum, the No. 2 Children's Palace, the Guangzhou Twin Towers and the TV tower.

Gan was a chief member of a 200-strong delegation to Hong Kong headed by Guangzhou Mayor Zhang Guangning over the past week.

"The biggest opportunities lie in the participation of construction and operation of Asian Games sports venues," Pan An, director of the Guangzhou Municipal Urban Planning Bureau said in Hong Kong.

The city will renovate 88 sports venues and establish an athletes' village, news center and a number of stadiums by 2008. The village will cover 120 hectares and accommodate 11,000 athletes from 40 countries and regions.

The Asian Games will also generate opportunities for sponsorship, broadcast franchising, circulation of commemorative stamps and coins.

Guangzhou has initiated a 200 billion yuan investment package to improve traffic, ecological environment, sports venues and facilities to guarantee the travel time between the sports venues and athletes' village is within half an hour.

Guangzhou's GDP will reach 766 billion yuan (US$ 92.5 billion) by 2010, and its industrial production value will hit 1.25 trillion yuan.

The delegation signed 50 projects valued at HK$13 billion (US$1.6 billion) with Hong Kong enterprises and investment groups last Thursday.

The delegation also hoped to strengthen cooperation with Hong Kong in five fields including rubbish disposal, sewage systems, expressway construction, medical treatment and renovation of cinemas, book stores and the construction of a new TV and broadcasting center.

(Shenzhen Daily August 30, 2004)