Rio City Hall and the construction company Carvalho Hosken signed a contract this Thursday 12/9, for the construction of the Olympic Village, which will host the athletes during the Games. “I am proud to say that the IOC members are impressed with what the Rio 2016 Olympic Village will be like, and have already said that this will be the most beautiful one in the history of the Olympic Games”, stated Rio 2016 Committee President, Carlos Nuzman, who took part of the signing ceremony at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Park, facility build for the Pan-American Games that will host, at the Olympic Games, the aquatics competitions. Built in an area of 75 hectares in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, close to Riocentro, the Village will comprise 34 twelve-store buildings. Altogether, 2.448 three and four bedroom, high standard apartments will be offered. All units will have a balcony, large dinning and living rooms and kitchen, besides utility room. The Olympic Village location guarantees that 46% of the Olympic athletes will be staying under 10 minutes of their training and competition facilities and 73% under 25 minutes. And also at the Maria Lenk, it was opened this Thursday the Taekwondo Training Center, which will be located there. The Center will have two training areas and equipments for the physical and technical preparation of the Brazilian athletes of that modality. “The Taekwondo Training Center is a proof that the Pan-American Games legacy is alive, is in progress”, Nuzman said. The beginning of the Olympic Park construction Also this Thursday (12/9), the City of Rock Olympic Park had its construction started in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, a few meters from where the Olympic Village will be located. The City Hall will invest R$ 37 million in the construction of the Park, which will be a leisure area for the athletes, integrated to the Olympic Village. The Park will be inaugurated with the return to the city of the international music festival Rock in Rio, in September 2011. The venue will be one more legacy to the city after the competition. Rio 2016 Committee President, Carlos Nuzman, participated in the event and praised the early construction work calendar. The Olympic Park will be built in an area of 250 thousand square meters, which will be equipped by the City Hall with elements for sport and leisure. Exercising machine stations, bicycle paths (for sport and leisure), playground, promenades, decks, marina and a viewpoint at the Jacarepaguá lagoon will be built. “Rio 2016 Committee and the governments are working as if the Olympic Games had already started. Every single day, from very early to late at night, all teams are working. And that makes us pretty early in our schedule”, Nuzman said.