The organizers of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing explained on Friday that the stalling of the Olympic main stadium is due to the re-evaluation of the venue design in a bid to minimize the construction cost.

The centerpiece venue, shaped like the birds' nestle and designed by a Swiss company, has won acclaim for its unique design but its construction came to a halt this summer.

Liu Jingmin, vice executive president of Beijing organizing committee, said that the organizing committee has gathered experts to re-evaluate the design and construction will soon be resumed.

"We halt the construction mainly in order to optimize the design so that we could save cost," said Liu.

"The new design would not affect the basic functions of the Olympic main stadium."

He reconfirmed the organizing committee's commitment to running the Games in a cost-conscious way and attached importance to the post-games usage of the stadiums.

"We would make full use of all the resources right at hand while meeting the competition requirements. We would use the existing venues and set up temporary facilities as much as possible."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board raised the question on the halt of the main stadium following the presentation by the Beijing organizing committee earlier this week.

But the organizing committee has reassured the IOC that the venue construction has nothing to worry about.

"The preparation of the Beijing Games went very well, there is no concern over the venue construction," IOC president Jacques Rogge told reporters.