Thought for London May 2008

Early start to the 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games construction site highlights building opportunities in London

The month of May saw construction work begin on the London Olympic Park – three months ahead of schedule. As the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, pointed out at the event to mark this special occasion, the legacy of the Park will be the regeneration of Stratford and surrounding areas of east London as well as the creation of lasting jobs and infrastructure that will benefit Londoners for future generations.

The 587 acre Olympic Park is the largest regeneration project in Europe and the project is being managed by the Olympic Delivery Authority’s delivery partner CLM, an international consortium made up of Laing O’Rourke, Mace (both UK based) and CH2M HILL (USA). As the delivery partner for the Games CLM's main task is to oversee the construction of an estimated £2 billion worth of sports venues relating to the Games, including the centerpiece 80,000-seater stadium and associated infrastructure projects.

Between them the three companies that comprise CLM have worked on five previous Olympic and Paralympic Summer and Winter Games as well as the two forthcoming ones. This gives me great confidence that London 2012 will also be a success.

The Olympic Park is by no means the only construction and regeneration project going on in the Capital and recent examples of similar big projects include Wembley Stadium and King’s Cross St Pancras.

The construction sector in London represents around 5% of London’s economy or $15 billion and employs over 200,000 people. We also have over 14,000 students studying construction related subjects at London’s universities.

With London’s economy set to grow by $80 billion by 2012 and the population projected to reach 8,1 million by 2016 (an increase of 700,000) over 31,000 new houses will have to be built each year in order to accommodate this growth.

This growth will depend on new design concepts and techniques that will see London develop in an environmentally sustainable and energy efficient way. I am excited that many of these innovative solutions will come from companies operating outside the UK. London is proud to be able to offer international companies access to a full range of services including civil engineering, professional and financial services, environmental consultancies and lawyers, all essential to the construction sector.

Think London is here to help these and other overseas companies set up and expand in London in order to globalise their own business and help create a sustainable future for the city.

Michael Charlton Chief Executive
Think London

For more information about how we can help your company access the business opportunities around the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, please contact us today.