China Central Television (CCTV), China's state broadcaster, Wednesday held a stone laying ceremony for its new headquarters in Beijing.

The 230-meter building with a total construction area of 550,000 square meters will cost about five billion yuan (602.4 millionUS dollars), said CCTV's official website.

The huge project won the approval of the central government 18 months after it had been halted due to worries about over-heated property investment as well as fears of traffic congestion around the 230-metre-tall (759 feet) structure, China Youth Daily reported at the time.

The project, covering an area of 187,000 square meters, was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and will include three major buildings: the main building, the television culture center and the energy service center.

The main building will consist of host studios, broadcasting and program production centers and administration departments, said the website.

As the only Chinese broadcaster with broadcast rights to the 2008 Olympic Games, CCTV feels that its current building would notsatisfy the future demand, according to the website.

Source: Xinhua