ODA finally confirms contract win which will see media centre turned into mixed-use office and business space after Games

The Olympic Delivery Authority has signed off the deal for Carillion to build the 拢400m media centre for the 2012 Games.

Carillion and its consortium partner Igloo have been expected to win the deal for months, but it is understood that the signing of the deal was delayed over issues with the legacy use of the 1.3m sq ft centre.


2012 Media Centre

The ODA said today that the international broadcast centre and main press centre hub would be transformed into mixed-use office and business space after the Games, providing a legacy of over 8,000 jobs in Hackney.

The ODA said it expects planning permission and final designs to be agreed later this year, which it said would trigger the private sector finance for the scheme to be in place ready to start construction next Spring as planned.

Tom Russell, group director for Olympic legacy at the LDA, said: "The importance of the IBC/MPC project to our regeneration objectives cannot be overstated. In providing over 1m sq ft of high quality office and business floorspace, it will lead the economic revival of east London, attracting high quality businesses and jobs to the area.  Much remains to be done to ensure that this potential is realised, but the appointment of Carillion Igloo is a significant milestone in this process.鈥

ODA chief executive David Higgins said: 鈥淲e now have world class teams in place to deliver four of the 鈥榖ig five鈥 Olympic park venues. The agreement to develop the IBC/MPC will represent a significant private sector investment into the regeneration of Hackney, which has some of the highest unemployment levels in the country.