Despite cost estimates for the Olympic aquatics venue for London 2012 currently bobbing near the £250 million mark, in comparison to the original price of £75 million, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) remains confident that it will stay within its procurement budget.
Given the ODA’s total budget of £6.09 billion announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in December, there is definitely some wriggle room, but the team’s purchasing practices will have to get and stay very keen to stay this side of some serious financial and political fallout if things don’t go to plan.
The aquatics venue was designed by Zaha Hadid (whose dreadful website can be found here) and is being put together by Balfour Beatty, who fell into the contract after French firm Eiffel and German construction company Hochtief controversially withdrew from the process.
