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National theatre meets technical problems
( 2002-03-09 00:05 ) (1 )

The China Grand National Theatre project has encountered serious technological difficulties mainly because of its avant-garde design, China Daily learned in an exclusive interview Friday with Shi Liwen, executive director and chairman of the board of the Hong Kong Construction (Holdings) Limited. Shi said the biggest obstacle is the installation of the building's steel structure and dome.

The futuristic opera house, which was designed by French architect Paul Andreu, features a titanium and glass dome set in the centre of an artificial lake.

There will be "a certain level of technical difficulty'' in installing the dome, said Shi, adding that an expert group has been formed to solve the problem.

"We are confident that the difficulty will have been overcome before it is time to install the dome,'' said Shi, whose company is one of the three contractors for the project.

He stressed that the problem will not affect the original construction schedule as the main task in the initial phase includes only groundwork.

Former vice-minister of construction Zhou Ganshi told China Daily that the emerging technical problem is "not unexpected.''

Zhou, who was one of the opponents of the design, refused further comments.

The 165,000 square-metre theatre, consisting of one large theatre seating 2,500 people and three smaller auditoriums seating between 500 and 2,000, is located in central Beijing near Tian'anmen Square and next to the Great Hall of the People.

Groundwork for the project began on April 1, 2000 but was suspended in July of the same year because of fierce debate among those in the architectural sector.

Andreu's initial design was originally projected to cost 2.6 billion yuan (US$314 million), but the cost has risen progressively by 20 to 25 per cent, thus drawing intense criticism over its size and hefty price tag, the China News Agency reported earlier.

Andreu revised his design three times over a 15 month-period and managed to reduce the size of the building and its cost.

Critics of the project claim the design is not in keeping with the predominant Chinese architectural style of the capital.

Construction was officially resumed in last December after final approval by the State Development Planning Commission, according to Shi, who is attending the ongoing Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC).

He said the final construction costs will be kept strictly within the original budget as the central government had ordered.

"But owing to delay of the groundwork, the project cannot be completed as planned,'' Shi said.

The opera house project, which was originally slated for completion in 2002, may not be completed until September 2004, according to the China News Agency.

(China Daily by Xin Zhigang)