ODA report sets out scale of 2012 challenge

The programme baseline summary outlines the scope of works the ODA will carry out on the Olympic Park and at venues around the country in a project twice the size of Heathrow’s new terminal 5 to be delivered in half the time. The scale of the work is outlined alongside details of the legacy benefits the project will deliver. The challenges and benefits of the project include:

• The biggest construction site in Europe creating thousands of new jobs with a peak site workforce of 9,000
• 2.5sq km of brownfield land to be remediated – the equivalent size of Hyde Park
• Transforming previously contaminated land into 110ha of new open space in a benchmark 21st century urban environment
• 4,000 new homes
• More than 30 new bridges, 20km of roads and 8km of revitalised waterways; 5 permanent new world-class venues
• Creating 1.3 million sq feet of legacy employment space in the media centre – the equivalent size to Canary Wharf tower
• Tens of kilometres of new utilities networks providing electricity, heat, water, sewerage and gas to the legacy communities
• In legacy, 20% of energy requirements will be supplied by on-site renewable energy infrastructure

The programme scope now being published is the basis for the detailed breakdown of the ODA budget that Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell published in December, so that a budget fully aligned with scope, programme and risks is now in place – a key building block to ensure that the Games are delivered on time and on budget. The report also outlines the long-term investment that is being made in this part of the Lower Lea Valley, home to some of the most deprived communities in the UK.

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: 'Delivering the venues and infrastructure needed for 2012 will be a hugely challenging project and the scale of works outlined in this report are matched only by the enormous legacy benefits they will deliver.

'The programme we are delivering is driven by legacy, with the large scale investment focussing not just on Games-time needs, but on the wider regeneration created by new venues and infrastructure around the country.'

The summary of the ODA’s Programme Baseline Report can be viewed online.
 
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For further information please contact the Olympic Delivery Authority Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 700

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