In his first interview since taking on the role of construction director at the Olympic Delivery Authority, Howard Shiplee, has called for a professional and open relationship with the industry.

In an interview published in Delivering 2012, a supplement free with this issue of 黑洞社区, Shiplee said: 鈥淭he message is we are listening. We may not always agree but we want to hear. The control and dissemination of information is in my view one of the critical issues.鈥�

Shiplee said that the biggest challenge he faced was getting everybody to understand their respective roles, including the delivery partner CLM.

He added that he was looking to learn from other projects, both in the UK and abroad, including Heathrow Terminal 5.

Also in the supplement David Higgins, ODA chief executive, echoed Shiplee鈥檚 remarks, saying the most important thing was 鈥渢o have a clear programme of what to do, and when, and stick to it鈥�.

Higgins said the ODA was hitting all its major milestones and responded to claims of political interference by saying 鈥渋t is only right that there should be a political debate about a project of this scale and importance鈥�.