Construction Work Begins on Last Big Olympic Building Project

Despite ongoing questions about funding, there was welcome good news for London 2012 organisers yesterday as construction began a month early on the last major venue at the Olympic site.

The Olympic Delivery Authority said its "big build" was ahead of schedule after work began on the foundations of the international broadcast center and main press center, which will house 20,000 broadcasters, journalists and photographers.

The location and specification of the building had been in doubt until earlier this year but after lobbying from local politicians, the Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, confirmed the cavernous £355m structure would be paid for by the taxpayer and sold on after the Games.

It is hoped that the center will act as the catalyst for the regeneration of the area, providing office space for up 13,000 people in the media and technology sectors. It had been talked of as a potential home for a major media organization, a higher education establishment or a hub that would house a range of hi-tech businesses.

The Olympic stadium is already starting to dominate the skyline in Stratford, east London, with the aquatics center and the Olympic village, where the athletes will stay, also taking shape. The foundations of the velodrome are also underway.

This Sunday 1,200 runners taking part in the Newham Classic 10k will become the first athletes to traverse the site.

Questions remain about how the £1bn Olympic village will be funded after the economic slump cast serious doubt over private sector involvement. Already £321m of taxpayers' money has been allocated to allow construction to begin while long-running negotiations with banks and the developer Lend Lease continue.

Last week it emerged that organisers had applied for a £255m loan from the European Investment Bank to support a social housing element of the plan.