Shanghai Expo sets June 30 deadline for pavilion work to start

Special Report:
Expo 2010 Shanghai
China

SHANGHAI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Attendees at the Shanghai
World Expo who intend to build their own pavilions for the six-month event must
start construction before June 30 this year, organizers told Xinhua Thursday.

If they miss the deadline, no pavilions of their own
designs will be built, according to the organizers, who added that such
exhibitors could still rent standardized pavilions provided by the organizers or
use a common pavilion for an entire continent.

The deadline was set with reference to the time
needed for the work to be done.

The Shanghai World Expo, the largest in history, is
due to open on May 1, 2010.

"If work on a pavilion starts after June 30 this
year, it can't be completed before May 1 next year. This will affect the
operation of the whole world expo park and support facilities," Zhong Yanqun,
deputy head of the executive committee of the Shanghai World Expo Coordination
Bureau, told Xinhua.

About 40 would-be attendees have expressed their
intention to build their own pavilions, the most in world expo history. But work
has started on only half of those structures, which is making organizers
anxious.

"It's imperative for work to start on the pavilions
to be built by attendees themselves. I'm really anxious when I think of it,"
said Wu Zhiqiang, chief designer of the Shanghai World Expo park and president
of the architecture and urban planning school of Tongji University, based in the
metropolis.

Among the 20 pavilions on which work must start soon,
the one for the United States has drawn the most attention.

The United States has not yet confirmed its
participation in the Expo as insufficient funds have been raised. U.S. laws
prohibit the government from allocating money directly for the activity.

Besides the United States, according to the expo
organizers, among the 170-plus nations that have established diplomatic
relations with China, only Andorra and Colombia have not yet confirmed
participation.

It is reported that the design of the U.S. pavilion
has been completed. The expo organizers, at the request of the U.S. side, have
allocated a 6,000-square-meter plot for the pavilion.

Some U.S. companies, including 3M and Dell, and the
U.S.A.-China Education, Science Culture Association have promised to grant
funds to the U.S. pavilion project. But they've offered much less than the 85
million U.S. dollars needed for the project.

The U.S. side has cut the budget to 56-60 million
U.S. dollars and agreed to accept financial support from corporations and
institutions outside the country, so as to start the project as soon as
possible.

Zhong said: "We believe active progress will be made
to allow the U.S. to attend. But if the country is absent from the Shanghai
World Expo, the biggest regret will be felt by the U.S. government and people,
for they will lose a great opportunity to display the image of the nation on the
world stage."

It is believed that the delay in putting up pavilions
reflects the global economic downturn, as well as insufficient funding and
perhaps neglect by those responsible. To have a pavilion built, a prospective
foreign attendee must confirm participation, sign a contract, determine the
theme, and take care of design, construction, exhibition arrangements and
operations. The process involves different government departments, institutions
and companies of a country.

"So far, no attendee has officially withdrawn citing
the financial crisis. But some countries suspended their preparatory work after
they signed exhibition contracts," said Hong Hao, director-general of the
Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau, declining to cite the countries.

World Expo organizers will step up negotiations with
would-be attendees who want to build their own pavilions in the coming weeks,
Hong added.

The organizers forecast that the Shanghai World Expo,
which is due to end on Oct. 31, 2010, will attract 70 million visitors, 5
percent of whom will be overseas visitors.