Beijing has worked out its security budget for the 2008 Olympic Games but it is still waiting for approval, a top official said yesterday.

"We have figured out the security budget for the 2008 Olympics, but it is subject to the government's approval," said Qiang Wei, deputy secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

But Qiang refused to reveal the budget amount, saying it will be unveiled "in a very short time."

Athens, hosting the first Olympic Games after the September 11 terrorist attack last year, spent more than 1 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) on security.

Qiang briefed reporters during the International Permanent Observatory on Security Measures During Major Events (IPO), where the closed-door meeting took place in the Chinese capital yesterday.

Qiang is also head of the Beijing Olympic Security Co-ordination Group and said the total will be unveiled "in a very short time."

Twenty-four foreign security experts from 10 countries and four international organizations, including the United Nations Inter Regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the European Police Office (EUROPOL), attended the IPO to share their experience of making security plans for such large events. These include previous Olympic Games, the 2004 European Football Cup and the 2003 Evian G8 Summit.

Set up by UNICRI and EUROPOL in February 2003, IPO aims to enhance the level of security during major events by promoting the identification of the best practices in the field.

It also seeks to strengthen international co-operation and facilitate the exchange of information among international agencies, international entities and experts that are well versed in security.

As the host city of the 2008 summer Olympic Games, the biggest sports event in the world, Beijing finds it necessary to learn more international successful security stories in some special occasions, such as the venue access, the transport security and bombs/explosive ordnance, Qiang said.

"It is important for us to open for more experience while organizing the Olympic security plan," he said.

The Beijing Olympic Security Co-ordination Group was set in late December last year. It is the leading governing body of the Beijing Olympic security.

Last March, the implementation of the city's Olympic security master plan was officially launched.

"With the help of foreign experts as well as the Beijing people, we will try to stage a secure Olympic Games in 2008," Qiang said.

About half of the 70,000 volunteer Olympic workers will be employed in security work.

Police equipment show

The IPO coincided with the China (Beijing) International Exhibition and Symposium on Police Equipment and Anti-Terrorism Technology and Equipment (CIPATE) at the Beijing Exhibition Hall, which ends tomorrow. To be ready for the 2008 Olympics, the police force in the capital is seriously considering beefing up its accouterments of helicopters so any threats of terrorism can be more efficiently dealt with and rescue missions more easily accomplished.

China currently has 17 police helicopters. The United States has 2,000.

"Beijing's lack of airborne police patrols is caused by the complexity in air space control, which is currently managed by the Air Force," revealed an insider.

But this has not deterred vendors from flaunting their wares and impressing potential buyers and inquisitive onlookers.

The deputy general manager and senior engineer of Hafei Aviation Industry Co, Yang Yangbin, was pushing his the HC120 police helicopter at the fair.

"It was jointly developed by Chinese, French and Singaporean companies some 20 years ago," he said.

The cost of maintenance is low and trained pilots are abundant because the military has been its biggest customer and has trained almost 1,000 pilots.

"After they retire from the service, pilots are often hired by the police," said Yang. Even if they have not flown this model before, it usually takes a pilot a month and half to be trained, keeping costs down.

However, for the Beijing Olympics, Yang said the H425/H410 model would be more suitable.

"Besides performing the usual police tasks, it can be an in-air command centre," Yang added.

There is a 25-per-cent price advantage against comparable foreign models, he said.

The 2008 Olympic security operation could also create jobs in the aviation industry. "If Chinese police forces buy enough of our helicopters, we'll consider opening a plant here," said Henri Stell, chief representative of Eurocopter, one of four foreign helicopter makers at the fair. Eurocopter has 80 per cent of the European market and supplies half of the helicopters for the US police market, Stell said.

Currently the Guangdong police have one of its EC135 model, a twin-engine, multipurpose aircraft. It can be customized for a stretcher and used for air-lifting in river or lake rescue.

Editor: Donald