Brussels, 04/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - Work of removing asbestos from the Berlaymont, building of over 200,000 sq. meters in which 3000 European Commission officials worked until 1991, should be completed by end-2003, said the Belgian Minister for Enterprise and Public Shareholding Rik Daems at the end of a visit to the building. "The esplanade will be definitive from next year and should be able to be re-opened to the public", the minister added, recalling that an "audit is being carried out on the case's past". The person responsible for the Berlaymont 2000 project, Jan Wyckmans, stipulated that only technical work and finishing touches remained to be carried out. "Presently, 250 to 300 workers are working on renovation. By the end of the year, there will be 800 to 900 on the site", he added. He recalled that Berlaymont 2000 was collaborating with three entrepreneurs: Eurconstruct is the pilot entrepreneur, 4D is dealing specifically with work on the tower and the 13th storey where the Commission's room will be. As for the base and the central area of the cross, final negotiations are underway with a third entrepreneur: the final cost of work will thus not be known until 31 October.