Beijing laid the foundation of a shooting range and cycling velodrome for the 2008 Olympic Games on Sunday following the start of the construction of two centerpiece venues.

Joining the National Stadium and the National Swimming center, the construction of which had kicked off on Wednesday, the Laoshan Cycling Velodrome and the Beijing Shooting Range joined the first group of venues to be built.

The Laoshan Cycling Velodrome, located in the western part of Beijing, will be China's first velodrome that meets the Olympic standards.

The Beijing Shooting Range, west to the cycling veldrome, covers a floor space of 48,000 square meters.

With 8,552 seats -- 2,101 permanent ones and 6,451 temporary ones, the shooting range will host all shooting events during the 2008 Games. The Laoshan Cycling Velodrome, the competition venue for track cycling races, will have 6,000 seats, a half of which are permanent ones.

The scheme for the shooting range was designed by China's prestigious Tsinghua University, while the Guangdong Architectural Design and Research Institute mapped out the cycling velodrome.

Bids for other Olympic projects, including the Olympic park on the northern edge of the city, are also under way.

Beijing promised to finish construction of its sporting facilities for the 2008 Games at least a year ahead of time so test events could be held during 2007.

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