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11th August 2005, Page 58
11th August 2005
Page 58
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

VVith the 2012 Olympic_Games in

the bag for L.(31r----idcin, —

Geoff Ashcroft takes a look at some of the opportunities operators can look

forward to over the,,..

next seven years.

iven that 500 acres of London will be redeveloped during the next seven years to make way for the 2012 Olympic and Paralytnpic Games not to mention the regeneration needed after the event-it stands to reason that there will be opportunities for hauliers in the construction sector.

It is estimated that 2,000,(XX)m7of earth will have to he excavated for venues at Stratford, East London, where the Olympic Park Stadium will be the centrepiece of the event.

And contractors are already chasing these projects, as Judith Moore of the London Development Agency confirms: "We have companies already queuing to start work and more than 200 firms have already submitted formal expressions of interest."

But the benefits will not be restricted to London.While the capital will need the greatest amount of redevelopment work, Olympic events will be held at 33 venues throughout the UK including Weymouth and Eton.

Olympic Park

The Olympic Park in Stratford has been divided into eight construction zones and work is expected to start in sequence with unworked areas of land used to stockpile earth in readiness for ground works and landscaping.

Among the zones are a Velodrome and BMX arena, an aquatics centre with a 50m competition pool, a 50m warm-up pool, a diving pool and two water polo pools as well as an indoor arena for handball and basketball and,last but not least, a hockey complex.

The park will also house the Olympic Village, which will provide accommodation for every athlete and team official. with more than 17,000 beds.The plans are said to retain London's tradition of building homes around communal squares and courtyards, with water features accentuating the closeness of the river Lea.

These sites will require all types of building and transport: earth will have to be moved; temporary on-site accommodation will be needed; and construction workers will have to be shuttled around. It all promises plenty of work for the CV sector.

And sites within the park's 500 acres that have been polluted over the years by industrial operations such as factories and gas works will have to be decontaminated and capped, with those areas that need it receiving bioremediation,soil washing and sorting.

Post-games work But ifs notjust the build-up to the event that is creating opportunities for the construction sector. Post-Olympics, there will remain a considerable workload for regeneration, housing development and the scaling down of the Olympic Park stadium from its 80,000-seat capacity to around 25,000, to allow London's Olympic stadium to be converted into a more manageable and sustainable athletics stadium for the city and perhaps also become home for one of London's top rugby clubs.

The Olympic Village would be at the heart of one of Europe's largest urban regeneration projects, with East London benefiting from new nursery, primary and secondary schools, while the converted village should provide about 9,000 new homes in the Olympic Park area, of which 3,600 will be part of an affordable housing scheme.

Then there's the infrastructure, including 5.3km of loop road,1.8km of primary road, 1.5km of secondary road and four road junctions. Pudding Mill River is to be realigned: the Olympic Village site will even feature a man-made lake.

The plan is lOr visitors to move around the city quickly and efficiently, using "the best planned and operated transport system in the history of the Olympic movement".

A dedicated road network will be exclusively reserved for the use of the Olympic competitors and officials throughout the games, providing fast,convenient access to every venue. Fans will also benefit, with 10 railway lines serving the Olympic Park.Nine of them already exist, with construction well under way on the 10th: the ChannelTunnel Rail Link (CTRL) through the new Stratford International station.

Transport improvements The CTRL line will operate with the Olympic Javelin high-speed shuttle service, which will transport visitors between central London and the park in just seven minutes and onto the Continent in a claimed 45 minutes. Many more visitors are expected to use Heathrow's Terminal 5,which is due to open in 2008.

The Javelin shuttle will run on the £3.8m CTRL section connecting St Pancras with Stratford The line is on schedule to open in 2007:a further £150m has been allocated for improvements at Stratford station.

Along with improved services on the underground Jubilee and Central lines,the transport options should enable a train to arrive at the Olympic Park every 15 seconds.

As work begins on the Olympic facilities the construction industry is expected to move into top gear as the games will eat into an already short supply of tradesmen.This is bound to ramp up costs,which could leave scope for canny operators to make a decent profit.

It's estimated that at least 1,000 people will be working on the Olympic Park by the end of this year, rising to 6,(XX) by the end of 2007. That's good news for many operators as there will be little need to relocate, given the volume of construction work that will be available in the capital for some time to come. •

Tags

Organisations: London Development Agency
Locations: London

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