Research company Experian has amended its pessimistic forecasts for construction output in light of the last Wednesday’s announcement that London will host the 2012 Olympic Games.

Early last week Experian published its summer construction update, which forecast 1.8% output growth in 2006 and 3.8% in 2007. Experian does not intend to publish more figures ahead of its autumn update but associate director James Hastings said that unofficially it had revised its forecast to just over 2% growth next year and 4.2% growth in 2007 – the year in which the Olympic construction work is expected to start. “Infrastructure, private commercial and public non-housing will be the areas that will grow,” said Hastings.

However, the Construction Products Association made no changes to its downbeat forecasts for output growth, which it predicted would grow 0.9% in 2006, rising to 3.5% in 2007.

The London 2012 team put forward a £10bn investment programme, and the construction bill alone was expected to be £2.5bn.

Allan Wilèn, economic director at the Construction Products Association, said despite this, it had not altered its figures because much of the Olympic work would take place beyond the end of the forecast period in 2007.

He added that the work planned for before the end of the forecast period was set to go ahead irrespective of the Olympic decision and the Construction Products Association had factored this into its forecast figures.