BEIJING, May 16: China on Tuesday showcased its spectacular 91,000 seat “bird's nest” stadium and other venues under construction for 2008 Olympics, as International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials began three-day inspection tour.

IOC also visited sites of bubble-effect cube that will be Olympic swimming centre, Olympic village, national gymnasium and international convention centre.

“The construction is well on schedule,” Jin Yan, head of construction for Beijing Organising Committee (BOCOG), told IOC team as he showed an architects' model of area around main Olympic venues.

“I can well imagine it, I think it's going to be great,” Hein Verbuggen, chairman IOC Coordination Commission for 2008 games, said after seeing model.

About 60 per cent of steel structure for Olympic stadium is complete and remainder should be finished by end of November, BOCOG construction officials said.

The estimated cost of construction is 3.1 billion yuan ($387.5 million) for stadium, designed by Swiss architects Herzog and De Meuron.

“We came here last time, there was nothing on the ground,” Kenyan IOC delegate Kip Keino, a former double Olympic gold medallist at 1,500m and steeple chase, said as he toured site of convention centre.

Keino said he was impressed by speed of building in China, which uses armies of labourers from vast state-run construction groups for most of work on Olympic sites.

“They have manpower,” he said of Chinese organisers of 2008 games.

Beijing Olympics are scheduled to begin on Aug 8, 2008, with slogan “one world, one dream”.—Agencies