Robertson said on Tuesday that the anticipated final building costs of the project had fallen by £16 million during the last quarter to £7.25 billion. The International Broadcast Centre became the fifth venue to be completed last week and the Aquatics Centre – the last major arena for the Games – could be unveiled before the one-year countdown on July 27. In March, the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium in Stratford was completed.
“With one year to go construction is 88% complete, ahead of time and under budget,” said Robertson, according to the BBC. Robertson said that the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) had done a “remarkable job to deliver top quality facilities in a challenging environment imposed by a fixed deadline and strict budget”. He added: “They have continued to drive down costs, which means we can celebrate one year to go with confidence and a real sense of excitement and expectation.”
Robertson was speaking just a day after he insisted that security preparations for the 2012 Olympics would not be affected by the resignations of London's top two police officers. Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson and Assistant Commissioner John Yates, Britain's top anti-terrorist officer, resigned amid an intensifying scandal involving phone hacking. Both individuals insisted they quit to ensure the police will have stable leadership ahead of the London Games.
Robertson stated that much of the security framework was already established before Counterterrorism Minister Pauline Neville-Jones left her job in May. “I am not concerned about the resignations in relation to Olympics security,” Robertson said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Pauline Neville-Jones made a massive contribution to get this in a good place.”
The statement added: “The appointment of Chris Allison, as the Met assistant commissioner in charge of all of this, has also really driven it forward. He is the point man on Olympic security and I am 100% confident that we are where we ought to be.”
