Olympic venues may need bail out, Jowell admits

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell has told MPs that efforts to raise private cash to build the 2012 Olympic Village and media centre could fail.

She said "intense" talks were still underway but cash may have to come from contingency budgets if those talks do not bear fruit.

She told the Commons culture committee that the Games were still on budget and using contingency money was not "any kind of failure".

But she also insisted that the venues would not be wholly publicly funded.

"I am not conceding that either of these will be wholly publicly funded projects and I want that to be absolutely crystal clear," she said.

Plans for the Olympic Village have already been scaled down in size from 4,600 flats to 2,800.

Developer Lend Lease has asked for more time to raise £1bn to complete the Village. The government has already advanced £95m in contingency money to enable work on the project to continue.

Commenting on wrangles over finding private funding for Igloo/Carillion's media centre she said: "We haven't given up. There is, at the moment, no private sector contribution on the table and that is a change since the contract was first signed, but the venue has to be built.

"This is not a good time to pursue private sector investment but, remember, there is a three and a half year build and development programme.

"Just because now isn't right, it doesn't mean that in two, two and half year's time, conditions may not be better and more sympathetic to getting private sector investment."