The Olympic Site Photo:ODA
British businesses have won 98 per cent of the £5bn worth of contracts put to tender by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), government figures out this week revealed.
Statistics released for the first time show that over 1,000 companies have supplied services to the Olympic Park build since work began in 2007.
London 2012’s Quarterly Economic Report was published on Monday and Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister, said the numbers “clearly highlight how companies from every corner of the UK are winning contracts.”
She added: “It provides a powerful illustration of how London 2012 is helping the whole of the country to ride out the downturn and plan for recovery.”
However one company boss from Croydon feels that home grown options are still being overlooked in favour of foreign business.
Writing to the ODA, Steve Hoad, managing director at Beddington-based Hydro-Cleansing Ltd, described his “absolute horror” at seeing a French company take a contract for waste disposal.
“I find it absolutely appalling that Veolia has taken all of the waste contract on the Olympic site and dictates to all the main contractors who they can use and who they can’t use with reference to liquid waste,” he said.
Hoad explained that his company, which specialises in sewage disposal and industrial cleaning, is also being blocked by the French company from winning subcontracts for waste management at the site, despite demand for their services.
“To my absolute horror I have seen French lorries with French number plates working on the site,” he said. “Why is there more of the revenue from the UK leaving the UK?”
ODA responded by stating that European Union rules “promote full transparency and non-discriminatory practices in the procurement process between EU member states and for this reason it would not be unusual to see vehicles with EU registration plates on the Olympic Park.”
Meanwhile, fantastic new pictures unveiled this week show how the landscape of the Olympic Park in Stratford has changed dramatically.
With 974 days to go before the opening ceremony, the structures of the stadia that will host the athletics, along with swimming and cycling events, are taking shape and making an impact on the horizon.
ODA Chairman John Armitt, said: “With construction work on the Olympic Park approaching its peak, the ‘big five’ venues are already becoming landmarks on the east London skyline.”
But there is still doubt about who will pay for the upkeep of the site during the year-long gap between construction completion and the Games getting underway.
The report confirmed that discussions between the Government, the newly established Olympic Park Legacy Company, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and the ODA about how to split responsibility for maintenance are ongoing.
