Bouyagues and Lend lease in Olympic final

Teams headed up by French firm Bouygues and Australian developer Lend Lease have made it to the final run-in to deliver major elements of the £4bn Olympic Village scheme at Stratford, east London.

This means that a third contender, (a Kier/Bellway Homes/ Gladedale/Royal Bank of Scotland grouping, ) now has no chance of reachingbreasting the winning tape. London & Continental Railways and the Olympic Delivery Authority are expected to announce the ultimate winner of the race within the next two months, with construction work on course to start early next year.

The centrepiece of the scheme is to provide accommodation for the 70,000 athletes and officials expected to attend and participate in the 2012 Olympic Games. When the event is over, the winning group will convert the buildings into between 4,000 to 5,000 homes, plus hotel and commercial development.

Barratt Homes is also part of the Bouygues consortium; while the Lend Lease group includes Crosby Homes and developers East Thames Group and First Base.

[Contract Journal, 27 September 2006, p 2]