The London 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games remain on time and within budget, new
official data published today by the Government and Olympic
Delivery Authority (ODA) confirms.
Figures from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Quarterly Economic Report show a small rise in the Anticipated
Final Cost (AFC) of the construction programme being delivered by
the ODA – up by £7m to £7.241bn during the last quarter,
equivalent to an increase of less than 0.1 per cent.
But no contingency has had to be released to cover these
potential increases as it is anticipated that they will be
covered, either wholly or in part, by savings made in other parts
of the building programme.
The majority (£1.27bn) of contingency remains unreleased and the
ODA continues to make good progress in preparing the venues and
infrastructure in the Olympic Park, with construction on all major
venues underway.
More than 1,000 businesses across the UK have won direct
contracts from the ODA; part of £5bn worth of contracts, creating
thousands of business opportunities throughout the supply chain.
Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell welcomed the continuing progress:
“This reports shows we are still on time and still on budget.
Every day the Olympic Park changes a little bit more, confirming
the huge progress that the Olympic Delivery Authority and its
contractors are making in building the venues and infrastructure
that will be so familiar in less than three years time.
“At each and every stage the building programme is good news for
London, and good for Britain – helping the UK come through the
recession now, showcasing our construction and design skills and
leaving behind a long-term legacy of new facilities and a new
urban park in a transformed east London.“
Olympic Delivery Authority Chairman John Armitt said:
“We are on track and within budget. Cost pressures across the
programme continue to be offset in the main by savings and the
majority of contingency remains unreleased.
“The external structure of the Stadium is complete as is the roof
of the Aquatics Centre and work is progressing quickly on the
other venues, transport and infrastructure projects needed for
Games and in legacy. 75p of every pound we spend is for long term
improvements to this part of east London so there is already a
strong physical legacy from the project.
“Over 7,000 people are working on the Olympic Park and Athletes
Village and businesses all over the UK are benefitting from the
economic opportunity the preparations for the Games present.
“There is no cause for complacency. Next year is set to be our
toughest yet as activity on site reaches a peak and it is
essential we maintain our momentum.”
The changes in the Anticipated Final Cost (AFC) are as a result
of:
Savings made on site preparation and potential savings
opportunities on transport projects; the potential requirement for
more to be spent on upgrading local sporting facilities for
Games-time training venues and an increase in the cost pressure on
other Parkwide projects; increased costs for vehicle screening,
accreditation areas and transport malls, although this is being
offset by savings achieved elsewhere such as logistics;and
potential cost pressures on the Olympic Village and Stratford City
land and infrastructure projects. This relates to a reappraisal of
the security arrangements for the Village site during the
construction period.
Other key points from the Government Olympic Executive’s fourth
quarterly report are:
In the last quarter £2m of programme contingency was released
for: additional seating for people with impaired mobility at the
Aquatics Centre; to allow the option to purchase rather than lease
the training pools at Eton Manor so that they can be reused in
legacy; and to investigate the suitability of Barking and Dagenham
as a venue location for shooting, rhythmic gymnastics and
badminton; The majority of contingency used to date has been for
projects affected by the economic downturn; The gross allocation
of contingency to date on the project is £702m; The net allocation
is £378m, assuming the additional funding made available in May
for the Olympic Village is repaid from the future sale of Olympic
Village homes; There is more contingency available than assessed
risks; Forecast risks on the project continue to reduce due to
efficient delivery. The ODA’s latest estimate is that they require
£683m of the remaining contingency, a drop from £685m in July
2009; There are over 7,000 people currently working for
contractors on the Olympic Park and Village; The ODA continues to
make good progress in preparing the Olympic Park. Construction
work is well underway with the roof structure of the Aquatics
Centre now complete; the external structure of the Stadium also
complete and all 10 milestones that the ODA set out to achieve a
year ago have been reached.
Notes to editors
1. A copy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Quarterly Economic Report November 2009 is available on the DCMS
Website at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/6454.aspx
2. The public sector funding package for the Games announced in
March 2007 was £9.325 billion. Of this £6.1 billion was identified
as the Olympic Delivery Authority budget, with around £2 billion
contingency and £1.2 billion for non-ODA activities such as wider
security and support for elite and community sport.
3. Decisions to release contingency funding are made by the
Ministerial Funders’ Group. This is Chaired by the Chancellor of
the Exchequer (Alistair Darling), and also consists of the Chief
Secretary to the Treasury (Liam Byrne), Minister for the Olympics
(Tessa Jowell), Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
(Ben Bradshaw), Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government (John Denham) and Secretary of State for Transport
(Lord Adonis). The Mayor of London attends but is not a member.
Contacts:
DCMS Press Enquiries and Out of hours telephone pager
Phone:
020 7211 6263
Mobile: 07699 751153
NDS.DCMS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Julia Smith.
Phone: 020 72116215
julia.smith@culture.gsi.gov.uk