Vice Premier urges Expo construction be stepped up

BEIJING - Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan on Tuesday urged construction of exhibition pavilions and facilities to be sped up in a "race against time," with little more than a month left till the opening of the Shanghai World Expo.

Related readings:  Expo to strengthen Australia's ties with China  Shanghai to open 42 Expo bus routes  Shanghai opens post office next to World Expo site  Shanghai port beefs up security for Expo

"With the joint efforts from various aspects, the preparation work for the Shanghai Expo has been going smoothly as a whole. However, there are still challenges," said Wang, also chief commissioner with the event's organizing committee, here Tuesday.

Wang said currently the most urgent task is the construction of facilities in the venues.

"We should improve service and facilities with stress on details to satisfy Shanghai residents and both domestic and overseas visitors," said Wang.

In addition, Wang urged mapping out a plan to cope with peak attendance periods and bad weather.

Offering the largest-ever exhibiting area of 5.28 sq km in the World Expo history, a record 70 million visitors from home and abroad are expected to attend the Expo from May 1 to October 31.