Officials check in on TVCC repairs

Officials check in on TVCC repairs

• Source: Global Times
• [08:31 March 18 2011]
• Comments

The TVCC tower is under restoration Thursday. Photo: Wang Zi

By Li Shuang

The first phase of reconstruction to remove and replace the charred metal exterior of the Television Cultural Center (TVCC) will be completed by August next year, Beijing authorities said after visiting the damaged building last week.

Sui Zhengjiang, director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, paid a visit to the center on March 7, according to a statement released to media on Wednesday, and pegged the final restoration date for TVCC's exterior in August 2011.

He was accompanied by authorities with the Central Engineering Service Department and the Beijing Construction Quality Control Station as they checked on the building's slow recovery from a devastating blaze sparked by fireworks on February 9, 2009, that killed one firefighter and injured eight.

The removal of the tower's burnt outer walls, composed of 6,000 square meters of glass and 1,100 square meters of metal, began last August.

The second phase will be to restore and reinforce the interior, including replacing 8,500 square meters of interior decorations and parts of the steel structure, according to a statement released to the Global Times Thursday by Gong Yijun, the director of the Beijing office of the Beijing Urban Construction Group.

The restored tower will keep its original look, according to Sui.