THE most eye-catching symbolic construction designed by a French architect in the bidding for World Expo 2010 Shanghai - the Flower Bridge - ran into controversy at a recent seminar in the city.

During the Planning and Design International Seminar for World Expo 2010 Shanghai, held from April 15 to 17, many experts said the Flower Bridge was not suitable as the symbol for Expo 2010 Shanghai.

However, the designer, Martin Robain of Architecture Studio, said: "As for us, we think an event of such size and such ambition requires the edification of a symbol to the city of Shanghai's scale. The symbol we offer is the Flower Bridge. Because a bridge signifies a link that gathers and unites. It means union."

With hundreds of magnolias and thousands of flowers, the Flower Bridge conveys the ideas of quality of life within the city.

The ribbon of flowers extends up to 200 metres high and visitors will be able to walk across it - a 15-minute trip - and will see the city of Shanghai from the river amidst the flowers as they walk between Puxi and Pudong. The cost of tickets should quickly make the bridge profitable, according to the designer.

If it is built, the Flower Bridge will be the biggest planting construction in the country with an estimated investment of 1 billion yuan (US$121 million).

During the seminar, Bradford Perkins, an architect from the US was first to raise objections to the plan.

He said the Flower Bridge should be built across a narrow stretch of water that wasnot so busy with river traffic. It was not suitable for the wide and busy Huangpu River.

Xia Liqing, the former director of the Shanghai Planning Bureau, said there was still a question mark over whether or not big ships could pass under the Flower Bridge.

Peng Yigang, professor of construction at Tianjin University also expressed his disagreement with the Flower Bridge plan after the seminar.

"Such big and high bridge across the Huangpu River doesn't look so good," he told the Shanghai Morning Post. "In addition, there are several bridges across the river now, it is not necessary to have another one."

Peng said none of the symbolic construction plans he had seen were ideal. The whole project needed more discussion and research, he said.

Robain said: "This is exactly what happened to the Eiffel Tower - nobody wanted it at first and now it is one of the most profitable and symbolical monuments of Paris.

"The Architecture Studio will commit, if this makes the decision easier, to finance, build and manage this bridge as long as necessary. After a few years, the city will take over the bridge and its management without having to spend any money."