Special report:   2008 Olympic Games

    BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic Village for the Beijing Olympic Games is energy-saving and environmentally friendly, said the organizers here on Wednesday.

    Liu Rong from the Beijing Guoao Investment Development Co. Ltd which was entrusted to build the Olympic Village and the National Indoor Stadium, said the 66-hektare village in north Beijing materialized the three Beijing Olympics concepts of Green Olympics, People's Olympics and Hi-tech Olympics.

    "We have been pursuing the harmony between the structures and the environment," Liu said.

    She said the Village, playing home to 16,000 athletes and officials during the Olympic Games and 7,000 during the Paralympics, will be operated partly through solar energy to reduce the use of electricity.

    "Our resources-recycling system will make use of the waste water and solar energy to run the air-conditioners and provide hot water for the 16,000 athletes and officials during the Games time and 2,000 residents after the Games," said Liu. The Olympic Village will be modified to become residential area in 2009.

    "Through the system, five million kWh of electricity will be saved each year," she said.

    Domestic wastewater and rainwater are also useful in the Village.

    "We set up pipes to collect rainwater and recycle domestic wastewater as supplies for places like the lake and irrigation," she said.

    The Olympic Village will formally open on July 27, less than two weeks before the Aug. 8-24 Olympic Games and continue to serve the Paralympics until Sept. 20.