|
|||
 |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
London 2012 Games budget fears premature, says IOC(Reuters)Updated: 2006-11-30 10:22 A media frenzy regarding the alleged spiralling costs of the 2012 London Games was surprising and premature, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.
Earlier, the IOC Executive Board heard a report from Denis Oswald, chief inspector for the London Games, who said there was no need for alarm as far as progress was concerned. Felli said it was too early to have a budget review for London but added he saw no reason yet for the costs to go up. "We don't believe that the budget for the Games has increased, so that is why we are a bit surprised about all this discussion," he said. Media in Britain have been speculating about potential budget increases and questioned plans for a wider regeneration of the capital's East End for the Games, following the resignation last month of Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) chief Jack Lemley. After his sudden departure, Lemley said he had quit because work was not progressing quickly enough, triggering a barrage of negative headlines regarding London's preparations. Felli, however, played down fears saying the regeneration discussion was unrelated to the Olympic Games and, following London's successful bid last year, organisers were now looking more carefully into options of how to create a longer lasting legacy for the city and the country. "One of the objectives was to boost development of East London," Felli said. "Now that they have the Games, they have second thoughts or they can develop it (regeneration plan) and at the end of the day it is a lot of costs that are not linked to the Games," he said. Meanwhile, the London ODA announced this week the Aquatics Centre had become the first main venue in the Olympic Park to reach the detailed design stage. The centre will consist of two 50-metre pools and a diving area but is smaller than originally intended after British government minister Tessa Jowell rejected the initial plans last December for being over-budget. Contractors are preparing the site and construction will begin in mid-2008, the ODA said in a statement.
|
||||||
