Team Appointed To Develop London 2012 Media Centre

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has selected a consortium of Carillion and Igloo to deliver the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre (IBC/MPC) for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and its legacy development.

The British consortium will transform the 1.3 million square feet media hub into quality mixed-use office and business space after the Games, larger than Canary Wharf tower, providing a legacy of over 8,000 new jobs in Hackney.

Previous Carillion projects include Government Communications HQ, the News International printing operation and the regeneration of a 138-acre site in Swindon. Previous Igloo regeneration projects include Leeds Holbeck, Bermondsey Square and Cardiff Bay.

The IBC/MPC site has been cleared. We expect planning permission and final designs to be agreed later this year. This will trigger the private sector finance for the scheme to be in place ready to start construction next Spring as planned. The details of this significant private and public sector investment for Hackney will be given when planning permission has been secured.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee said: "Today's announcement is a significant step towards the provision of the best possible working environment and technology for the 20,000 members of the world's broadcasters, press and photographers in the summer of 2012.

"Millions of people around the world rely on the international media to relay the stories of human endeavour on the field of play. The impressive facilities we have planned will give us the best possible foundations for telling all the stories from the London 2012 Games whilst leaving high performance workspace for the east of London."

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins also said: "We now have world class teams in place to deliver four of the ‘big five’ Olympic Park venues. The agreement to develop the IBC/MPC will represent a significant private sector investment into the regeneration of Hackney, which has some of the highest unemployment levels in the country.

"Carillion Igloo will bring a combined construction and regeneration excellence to create the media hub to transmit the London 2012 Games across the world but also to transform the venue into a vibrant and sustainable employment space in legacy."

The overall masterplan and detailed uses and designs will be finalised in tandem with the London Development Agency's (LDA) consultation on the Legacy Masterplan Framework plans for developing the Olympic Park legacy, which is currently being consulted on. The Framework will form an outline planning application for developing the Olympic Park site after the Games. It is part of a wider LDA-led regeneration strategy for the area which also takes into account social and economic regeneration.

(JM/NS)