Culture secretary Tessa Jowell says expected costs of 2012 Olympic Park would rise by £900m to £3.3bn

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell today said that the expected costs of the 2012 Olympic Park would rise 40% by £900m since London won the bid last July.

She told a select committee of MPs that the figure would rise from an original £2.375bn to £3.3bn.

Almost half of the increase in cost is the result of a payment of £400m to CLM, the Olympic delivery partner which is a consortium of Laing O’Rourke, Mace and CH2M Hill. CLM will be paid the money if it delivers the Olympics on time and to budget.

That was not budgeted into the original costs estimated at the time of winning the bid. CLM was appointed in September.

Jowell suggested that the extra costs would be funded by London council tax payers and national lottery funds.

The £3.3bn figure does not include money required for the wider regeneration of the area. She said rising costs could also be explained by increasing steel prices as well as inflation to 2012.