The millions of migrant workers currently in Beijing will not be
forced to return to their hometowns during the 16-day Games and the
city's construction projects will continue, officials said
Wednesday.
Sui Zhenjiang, executive deputy director of Project Management
for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said yesterday that construction
projects in the capital "will not be stopped for the Olympics
because every project has its own economic background and will be
carried out naturally."
"However, before the Olympics or during the process of the
Olympics, we will conduct strict management on the air quality in
Beijing," said Sui, without elaborating.
It is estimated that there are more than one million migrant
workers in the city and that that 300,000 figures involved in
Olympic venue construction.
To ease worker's concerns about welfare, the city's municipal
government has also taken measures to ensure wages are paid on time
by sub-contractors involved in venue construction, according to
Sui.
"Great importance has been attached to this issue, and
construction projects have been inspected to check whether salaries
have been paid or not," he said.
Beijing's skyline is dotted with thousands of construction
cranes, and Olympic construction is just a small slice of the
city's makeover.
Beijing plans to build or refurbish 31 venues in the city for
the Games, which will take place from August 8-24, 2008.
(China Daily January 11, 2007)