Foreign and Military Affairs

China donates toward UN renovation project

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-13 11:31

UNITED NATIONS - China on Wednesday donated $1 million toward the United Nations' Capital Master Plan (CMP), the renovation project of the UN Headquarters in New York.

Wang Min, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, signed an agreement with Jun Yamazaki, Assistant-secretary-general and Controller of the United Nations.

The donation will be used to renovate the lobby in front of the General Assembly Hall.

UN Under-secretary-general for Management Angela Kane and Assistant-secretary-general for and Executive Director of the CMP Michael Adlerstein attended the signing ceremony.

Kane, on behalf of UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, thanked the Chinese government for its strong support to the work of the United Nations, particularly the CMP.

The nearly $2 billion renewal process for the entire UN complex - plagued by leaks, safety violations and outdated systems - is set to wrap up in time by 2013, with the renovation of the Secretariat tower scheduled to be completed in 2012.

When completed, the landmark 39-story building towering over the East River and First Avenue in Manhattan will possess the 21st- century trappings of eco-friendly energy conservation, and its now dulled glass facade will be replaced with a new glass curtain resplendent with the same bluish-green tint as in its first incarnation in 1952.