World's largest planetarium resumes construction

SHANGHAI - Construction resumed Wednesday on the Shanghai Planetarium, a branch of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, and is due to be the world's largest of its kind in terms of gross floor area when it officially opens in 2021.

Located in the Pudong New Area, the planetarium occupies a gross floor area of 38,164 square meters, about half of that of the Louvre in Paris.

Twenty-two workers resumed work Wednesday, accounting for about 15 percent of the total. As more workers return, their safety and health will be ensured, according to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.

Strict preventive measures have been taken, with temperature detection, information registration and disinfection of hands and shoes required for all entering the construction site, it said.

According to the museum, five temporary quarantine houses have been set up at the site to prepare for those with high body temperatures.

The construction site and office areas are disinfected twice a day while frequently visited places including restrooms and lifts are disinfected three times a day. Preventive materials such as facial masks, disinfectants and body temperature monitors are fully prepared, it added.

The planetarium is designed with a main building and ancillary facilities such as an exploration center for youth and two observatories for the public.