BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Construction of four main venues for the 2008 Olympic Games will get underway next month, the Beijing Olympic organizers said on Wednesday.

Apart from the National Stadium and the National Swimming Center, the Beijing Shooting Range and the Laoshan Cycling Velodrome will also be among the first venues to be built, Liu Zhi, deputy director of planning and construction of the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee (BOCOG), told a press conference here Wednesday.

The Architectural Design and Research Institute at China's prestigious Tsinghua University has been picked to design the shooting range, and the Guangdong Architectural Design and Research Institute will map out the cycling velodrome, said Liu.

The State Sports General Administration of China will undertake the construction and operation of the two venues, while the BOCOG is in charge of the other projects.

The BOCOG has finished by last week the tenders for the National Swimming Center, the National Stadium, the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Complex, the Olympic Aquatic Park, the National Gymnasium and the Olympic Athletes' Village.

The six projects demand a total investment of about 20.5 billion yuan (about 2.48 billion US dollars), 85 percent of which will be raised through marketing mechanism, said Liu.

Construction of the other Olympic venues will start in 2004.