Olympic Building Bonanza

Building firms in London are gearing up for an expected building bonanza, based on the back of the 2012 London Olympics.

Around £2.4BN has been set aside for 2012 Olympic Games' construction projects.

However, The National Federation of Builders (NFB) has raised concerns that many major contracts could be awarded to firms that use labour and sub-contractors outside of London.

NFB is asking the London Development Agency (LDA) to ensure that controls are in place that recognise the interests of the sector.

Gary Amer, regional director of NFB in the South, is quoted as saying:

"The London Olympics have the potential to be the best ever and though the NFB recognises that the benefits need to trickle down across the UK, I'm concerned many local construction companies and their employees could miss out.

Though it's appreciated the ODA hasn't been established yet and that many of the contracts won't be available until 2008, it's essential that small and medium-sized contractors are involved from an early stage.

We're currently working hard to influence the LDA and hope to have meaningful discussions with the ODA later this year."

As noted many times on this site, the Olympics is not about sport; it's about money!