A 42-meter-high factory chimney on Pudong Road S. is demolished to make way for future World Expo construction yesterday. The former site of the Shanghai Hualun Printing and Dyeing Company is to be turned into the expo's headquarters.

A NEWLY renovated former textile factory will be the headquarters and administration center for the World Expo 2010, the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination announced yesterday.

Also yesterday, a 42-meter-high factory chimney was demolished to make way for future Expo constructions.

Construction on the country's biggest bus parking lot, which will serve the Expo, also started yesterday.

"We will make full use of the existing buildings for expo use," said Huang Yaocheng, the bureau's deputy director.

The new office building, called Expo Mansion, is located on 3588 Pudong Road S. near Dongfang Road, just outside the expo's ticketed area.

It was originally used by the Shanghai Hualun Printing and Dyeing Company. The bureau has moved out of its original office at Shanghai Exhibition Center into the new building.

During the expo, from May to October 2010, the renovated factory will house the administration center and provide services for expo participants.

The Expo Mansion has 12 storeys and a roof-top platform where people can overlook the entire expo site.

Two monitors are installed on the platform to give organizers a complete overview of expo construction projects.

Most of the 18,000 families and 272 companies scheduled for relocation ahead of the Expo have moved out. It is expected that the Expo site, about 5.28 square kilometers, will be ready for new constructions by late next year.

The city has reserved over 20 historic factories and industrial buildings within the Expo site, taking up a total area of 400,000 square meters.

The old sites will be transformed into exhibition buildings and public activity venues for the expo.

The sites include the Jiangnan Shipyard, Qiuxin Shipyard and Shanghai Pudong Iron and Steel Factory.