Beijing 2022 has openly invited tenders to bid for the joint delivery of the National Speed Skating Oval supported by government investment. The National Speed Skating Oval will be one of the venues for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The bidding process will start in late July and finish in late September. It is Beijing 2022’s first project to be delivered using the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The National Speed Skating Oval, reportedly covering 80,000 square meters with a seating capacity of 12,000, will be located in Chaoyang District, Beijing. The total amount of the investment of this construction project (apart from land costs) is expected to reach around 1.18 billion yuan (US$174.4m). 

At a press conference held on July 14 a representative of the Beijing Major Projects Construction Headquarters Office Dai Mengdong revealed that the Beijing Major Projects Construction Headquarters Office would be the main contractor of the National Speed Skating Oval’s construction and operations, while the Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Co., Ltd. would be responsible for the government investment. The project‘s financing will come from a build–operate–transfer (BOT) arrangement, whereby a private entity receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct, own, and operate a facility stated in the concession contract. The contract will last 30 years with 3 years for construction (2017-2019), 2 years for delivering the Olympic Games (2020-2022) and 25 years for its operations after the Olympic Games. 

Dai also stated that Beijing Major Projects Construction Headquarters Office would also  invite social investments to bid for the projects. The final bid will be selected according to its/their construction, financing and operation abilities and the price bid.

As for the return on social investments, social investments will gain financial returns and social outcomes from government’s funding throughoutits construction and during the post-games operation of the venue and its facilities. The government will not offer any funding to the venue after the Olympic Games. Instead, the government will promote winter sports and its market to support social investments in operating the venue creatively and gaining revenues from it. 

After Beijing 2022, the National Speed Skating Oval will be used for international ice skating competitions, ice hockey and curling, as well as for mass winter sports activities.

Source: huanqiu.com

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick