China could expect to save up to 1.6 billion yuan (US$193 million) by redesigning the National Stadium, being built for the 2008 Games, according to a report in China Newsweek.  

Work on the project -- dubbed the “Bird’s Nest” for its giant latticework structure of irregularly angled metal girders -- was suspended earlier this month amid a nationwide drive to cut down on white elephant projects.

The stadium’s new design is expected to slash the construction bill from the 3.9 billion yuan (US$471 million) it had escalated to within eight months after the ground was broken to 2.3 billion yuan (US$278 million), according to China Newsweek.

Many experts believe the costs for the Swiss-designed stadium could be scaled down further.

The original latticework design of the stadium called for up to 136,000 tons of steel, about four times the average requirement for a conventional building.

A redesign task force plans to reduce the amount of steel needed to just 32,000 tons, mainly by scrapping the originally planned retractable roof and enlarging the size of the rooftop opening.

Under the new design plan, only the spectator stands would be covered.

Li Xinggang, deputy chief architect of the China Architecture Design and Research Group, explained that the original rooftop opening was designed to be small to facilitate the opening and closing of the retractable roof.

He stressed that the aesthetics of the stadium would not be affected by the redesign.

(Agencies/China Newsweek, China.org.cn August 24, 2004)