Organizers of the 2005 World Exposition planned for Aichi Prefecture have come up with an alternate construction plan in response to criticism by environmentalists, it was learned Saturday.
The organizers will reduce the planned land area for a permanent building from 13 to 3 hectares in the southern area of "Kaisho no Mori," a wooded region in the southeastern part of Seto, it said.
The new plan also calls for building a permanent facility over half a hectare of land and a 1-hectare makeshift pavilion in western Kaisho no Mori, which is relatively developed compared with the area's southern part where environmentalists say a precious ecosystem exists.
The organizers told reporters they expect 10,000 to 20,000 visitors to Kaisho no Mori during the expo, and some 110,000 people will visit a nearby park in Nagakute, which will also serve as a venue.