London 2012 Games head Sebastian Coe rejected media reports quoting Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) chief executive David Higgins saying that redeveloping funds for the Lower Lea Valley area where the Games will be held, would be higher than initially estimated. The reports said the redevelopment cost would rise by about two billion pounds.
Coe told Reuters Monday at the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) “David Higgins did not say there was a two billion overrun. This is not what he said and he did not mention a figure. We got work going on as one would expect and we must work on maximizing the legacy use. What David Higgins was talking about was non-Olympic costs”.
Coe said London Games organizers had purchased the land and done the necessary preparations early enough so as to avoid any potential budget overruns. He said Higgins had talked about infrastructure projects that were not directly linked to the Games and were part of a wider redevelopment program of the area in East London.
Because organizers had done the necessary groundwork early the chance of any overruns were greatly reduced.
