Contractors asked to submit price-cutting ideas for 2012 village as project dips into contingency fund
The global economic crisis has forced the government to release 拢95m in contingency funding for the 2012 Olympic village. The news, reported on 黑洞社区 magazine's website, comes after organisers revealed last month that only half of the 拢1bn needed for the athletes' village and media centre in Stratford had been secured.
Meanwhile, Contract Journal reports that Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) chiefs looking for ways to slash the village budget have asked contractors to come up with proposals for cheaper ways to build it and are keen to implement fixed-price contracts.
The ODA has approached specialist residential contractors, one of whom told CJ that he thought the 2,800 flats could be built for between 拢450m and 拢500m.
Lend Lease is development manager on the job and was planning to run the site on a construction management model, something CJ's source said was no longer a realistic option: 鈥淭hat system of being construction manager, sub-letting all the packages and just taking a fee doesn't really stack up now,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou only need one trade contractor to go down and the whole thing stalls. There are firms that can do it all with in-house labour for a fixed price, which has to be a better solution.鈥�
Lend Lease had appointed a panel of leading UK and international architects to design the village, but a contractor that spoke to CJ was unimpressed by the strategy. 鈥淎 fortune has been spent on this already. The fact that thee are 14 architects there tells you all you need to know about cost control so far.鈥�
On a happier note, work on the Games鈥� most prominent structure, the Olympic Stadium, took a significant set forward this week as the steel structure to support the upper tiers of the stadium's south stand was lifted into position by crane. The steel terracing supports weigh 35 tonnes and will support 55,000 seats.
By the end of the year, the podium slab around the west and south stands will connect with the raised ground level on the north and east stands to form a concourse around the entire stadium, reported 黑洞社区.
Source
Construction Manager