黑洞社区

The 拢778m programme to prepare Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games requires 鈥渦rgent action鈥� in order to be a success, according to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

In its 2019 Annual Report, the IPA gave the Commonwealth Games an amber/red rating 鈥� in its first inclusion in the report鈥檚 seven-year existence.

According to the IPA鈥檚 ratings, this means 鈥渟uccessful delivery of the project is in doubt, with major risks or issues apparent in a number of key areas.

鈥淯rgent action is needed to address these problems and/or assess whether resolution is feasible.鈥� But the report did not spell out what the exact risks were.

Data from the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS), which was used to support the IPA鈥檚 report, said: 鈥淭he project was amber/red at quarter two due to its complexity, profile and budget which was not confirmed.

鈥淎 delivery unit to support the Games has been established within DCMS and the organising committee for the Games has been set up.鈥�

Both reports use data from September 2018.

The DCMS said delivery of the capital projects of the Games, which includes construction of the athlete鈥檚 village, redevelopment of Alexander Stadium, the main venue for the event, and building the new aquatics centre, was underway and 鈥渙n track鈥�.

While neither report specified the issues that needed to be addressed, councils and authorities working on a number of the capital schemes have previously flagged concerns about the projects.

Last August, just a week after Wates won the 拢50m contract to build the aquatics centre, 黑洞社区 revealed the job was one of two authorities are so worried about being built on time that it has already been given a red risk rating.

The centre, which is being built in Smethwick, and the 拢15m-拢20m redevelopment of Perry Barr railway station, which will service the main stadium and athlete鈥檚 village, had both been given a high risk of busting their deadline or budget.

Other projects ranked by the IPA included Crossrail, which was given a red rating 鈥� meaning successful delivery of the project appears to be 鈥渦nachievable鈥� 鈥� while HS2 received an amber/red rating for the seventh year in a row.

But the expansion of Heathrow Airport was only given an amber ranking, meaning 鈥渟uccessful delivery appears feasible鈥�.

The restoration and renewal of parliament was not included in the report.