Beijing denies use of virgin wood in Games construction

BEIJING, May 31 (Reuters) No virgin Indonesian wood is being used in construction of the venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, organisers said in a statement today.

A report in the Jakarta Post in April said a state-owned Chinese company had sought Indonesian government permission to establish a timber factory in Papua to process 800,000 cubic meters of merbau hardwood in time for the Games.

''A review by the government agency responsible for supervising the construction of the venues for the 2008 Olympic Games has confirmed that none of the venues is using or will use virgin timber from Indonesia, as has been alleged,'' said a statement from the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).

''In fact, the review found that no wood products are being procured from Indonesia,'' it added.

BOCOG is particularly sensitive to such allegations as one of the main themes of the 2008 Games is ''Green Olympics''.

''BOCOG took these allegations seriously ... and opposes the use of virgin timber in the construction of Olympic venues, a position that BOCOG has consistently maintained,'' the statement continued.

REUTERS PM PM1535