Olympics progress 'considerable' but pollution and traffic an issue

Games preparation in Beijing has made 'considerable progress' in the past six months, but the environment and traffic still stand out as potential problems, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegation said yesterday at the close of their eighth visit to the 2008 host city.

'We are confident to say that Olympics preparations are at the level we would expect them to be,' IOC Co-ordination Commission chairman Hein Verbruggen said after three days of meetings and site visits.

While he spoke highly of the stadiums, the chairman said: 'there is still a lot of work to be done, although it's normal.'

Mr Verbruggen said it was no secret that in terms of the environment 'the problems are not solved yet', and contingency plans - previously required in Seoul and Los Angeles - had been drawn up by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympics (Bocog) to ensure optimal air quality during the Games.

He said that over the past two years 'everything promised by Bocog has been delivered' in solving environmental problems. But rapid economic development had added unforeseen complications such as the plague of dust created by the enormous number of construction sites around the city.

'We are very aware of the problem and have worked together' on it, Mr Verbruggen said. 'We are confident that Bocog will deal with it.'