Beijing is expected to make a net profit of 16 million US dollars through staging the 2008 Olympic Games, a top official with the city's organizing committee (BOCOG) said in Tianjin on Friday.

"The total proceeds from running the 2008 Games will reach about 1.625 billion dollars," said BOCOG Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu, who is here to attend a forum on the Olympic Games.

According to Jiang, the revenues come from seven channels, including the sales of broadcasting rights and tickets, sponsorship and donations.

Operating expenses for the games -- held mainly in Beijing, with yachting and several other events in five other Chinese cities -- were originally budgeted at 1.609 billion dollars.

That doesn't include the cost of new sports facilities and Olympics-related urban improvements, which the government says will raise the total cost for the games to 37 billion dollars.

But Jiang emphasized that the operating budget is subject to adjustments due to "unforeseeable conditions" in the build-up to the Olympics.

"BOCOG has increased the budget in security and health areas in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks and the SARS epidemic," said Jiang.

"So the exact figure is uncertain yet," he added.
 
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2004)