Construction work is set to begin on the new building for the Capital Museum in Beijing, due to be completed by the end of 2003.

The museum building is jointly designed by Chinese and French architects while construction will be carried out by Beijing Construction Engineering Corporation, which won the bid for the project here Thursday .

The new structure will cover an area of 60,000 square meters, and include a dozen of exhibition halls totaling a floor area of 30,000 square meters.

Also to be included in the 40-meter high building are a 10,000- square meter storage area, a 1,000-square meter cultural relics repair and protection center, and a 1,000-square meter information and exchange center.

The new museum will open to public in 2005.

There are now 250,000 cultural relics and 700,000 ancient coins and books in the museum, one of the largest in the country. 

(China Daily March 29, 2002)