Wang Zhengming, spokesman for the theatre's committee, said the construction is expected to be completed early next month.

Then stage and electromechanical equipment will be installed. Wang said it should be finished by August.

While a Japanese company and a German company have already won the bid to provide the equipment for two of the three halls in the grand theatre, another public bidding process will be held to find a group to outfit the concert hall.

Wang said additional construction would have to take place. After roofing and a supporting steel network will be completed at the end of the year, a titanium-and-glass shell has to be added.

The oblong shell, depicting a sparkling pearl on water, will cover the three major performance halls with a total area of 149,500 square meters.

"The huge metal shell will be unique in the world," Wang said. "The installation is a really big challenge. A small mistake might mean problems in the future."

The shell has already been fabricated.

In addition to construction, the committee has already started training managerial staff for the theatre's future operation.

Wang said some candidates for major positions were sent to France and Japan to gain familiarity in the running of international-class theatres.

When the development work is complete, the committee will become the theatre's managerial body. A professional company will not be hired to fill the role, as previously expected.

As for the much-anticipated opening performance of the grand theatre, which is expected to be held next year, Wang said he could only promise that it would be high-quality.

"Many famous performance groups from around the world have contacted us indicating their willingness to do the first show," Wang said.

"Unfortunately, how the opening show will be performed has not yet been decided."

But he said the Ministry of Culture had been preparing for the show for two years by keeping an eye on various local performing groups with a view to inviting them to take part in the opening.

And in the spirit of Sino-French relations, the committee has been negotiating with the French Embassy in China for the last event of a series of friendship activities to be part of the theatre's opening.

"With the series of events and the opening show coinciding, it gives special meaning to the lasting friendship between the two countries," Wang said.

The grand theatre was designed by French architect Paul Andreu, whose extraordinary proposal beat 68 other candidates in an international bidding process.

It is being erected in spite of past doubts over whether it should be in the company of the solemn Tian'anmen Square.

(China Daily March 27, 2003)