On February 8, Shanghai World Expo planners marked a milestone when construction began on a complex of residences that will house many of the workers in the 2010 event.

The World Expo Village, located in the northeast segment of the 5.28-square-kilometer tract in Pudong, is designed to accommodate up to 10,000 workers from participating countries and organizations.

The city has set aside 30 hectares for the community, which will consist of new structures and living areas created in renovated warehouses. The village will comprise 540,000 square meters of floor space.

It will provide a range of accommodations, including apartments, serviced apartments and hotels in a variety of price ranges. Rooms will not be rented to Expo visitors at the site, however.

The first phase, which features reconstructed factories, will be completed by the end of next year, and the entire village is expected to be built by January 2010.

In addition to the construction kickoff, Expo organizers said they took another step forward yesterday in working with the countries that are planning pavilions for the event.

Zhou Hanmin, deputy director general of the city's Expo bureau, answered more than 100 detailed questions from the Canadian delegation in the first so-called "technical" negotiation.

The Canadians brought in about 20 representatives from various departments to meet with bureau officials.

The questions ranged from design requirements of the pavilion and traffic flow to the price of water, electricity and gas as well as banking and accommodation services.

Zhou noted that the meeting was very "constructive and fruitful."

Canada has chosen a location under the Lupu Bridge for its 6,000-square meter national pavilion.

The Expo, scheduled to run from May 1 to October 31, 2010, aims to attract at least 200 exhibitors and more than 70 million visitors, making it the biggest in history.