London 2012 Building Costs Rise
Increases in spending on transport and infrastructure have raised the projected cost of the London 2012 Olympics by $7.2 million, according to the government's latest quarterly report on the budget.
But London 2012 organizers say the Olympic project is on time and within budget.
The additional spend on transport and infrastructure for the Olympic Village and Stratford City is within the $11.7 billion available to the Olympic Delivery Authority, which includes a $2.9 billion contingency fund.
The report said the increases would be mitigated by savings and the continuing general reduction in risks to the program.
The new figures show that the ODA saved $188 million in the last quarter and in total about $869 million since the November 2007 baseline budget was agreed. The report said the most of these savings were used to control the budget by offsetting cost increases in other areas of the program.
The report said contingency funding so far allocated across the Olympic project was $1.1 billion, with another $1.7 billion still available, which was "more than the value of assessed risks".
Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said the report showed that the ODA had made considerable savings through efficiency.
"This reinforces why I have confidence that the savings we have asked for, as part of the wider government savings outlined on Monday, will be achieved without compromising the project."
The report covers the period January to March, coming before the government’s announcement this week of plans to slash $39 million from the Olympics budget under $8.9 billion of public spending cuts introduced by the new Conservative-Liberal Democrats coalition. The ODA insisted this saving would be found by continuing to make efficiencies across the project.
ODA chairman John Armitt said today's report showed the ODA was continuing to hit all of its milestones.
"With approaching 10,000 workers now on the Olympic Park and Village sites the year ahead is set to be our busiest yet. We are making good progress but are not complacent – there is still a lot of work ahead," he said.
The government's financial report on the Olympics also noted that agreements had been signed between the ODA and London and Continental Railways over the post-Games development of land within the Olympic Village site.
It said that following the decision to only build what is needed for the Games in the Olympic Village, there are a number of plots on the site available for future residential development. The new land agreements mean the ODA takes ownership of these further residential plots, allowing the existing and future development of the village site to be planned and managed as one.
The ODA will no longer participate in the potential future profit arrangements from the commercial development of land to the south of the Olympic Village.
Rowing Venue Complete
The ODA also announced today that work has been completed on time and on budget on the rowing and canoe sprint venue for 2012.
Construction work on the Eton College Rowing Centre at Dorney Lake near Windsor in west London is finished to provide improved facilities for athlete warm-up and canoe sprint events.
The revamped facilities include a new 50m bridge at the finish line area, the upgrade of an existing gravel/stone access road within the venue site for use during the Games, and a cut-through and new bridge between the competition lake and return lane of the 2,000m rowing course.
London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said: "Eton Dorney is a well established venue set in the heart of rowing country.
"These enhancements show our commitment to providing the best possible facilities for athletes at Games time. It is a world-class venue that hosts elite level competition as well as community events, and is a venue of which we can all be proud."
Eton Dorney becomes the second London 2012 venue to be completed, following the completion in 2008 of enhanced facilities for sailing events in Weymouth and Portland.
Written by Mark Bisson.
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