CRI听力:UK Olympics Minister: Construction Ahead of Schedule and Under Budget

Britain's Minister for Sport and the Olympics says construction of the Olympic venues is ahead of schedule and under budget. Hugh Robertson insists London 2012 will be able to deliver its legacy promise. Our London correspondent Tu Yun has more.

The budget for the London Olympic Games has more than tripled since 2005. There are concerns over further increases as world energy and commodity prices are on the increase.

Robertson is reassuring.

"I'm pleased to confirm that as of today, we are marginally under budget. We think we'll be able to deliver the construction project for less than we thought was necessary when we embarked on this in 2005. And most of the other financial aspects of the project, whether it's in terms of the marketing, the village, or the building of the main venues, are on time and where they ought to be."

The roughly 9.3-billion-pound budget made in 2007 has been slightly revised down by the coalition government as part of its massive deficit reduction plan. And there have been reports that the government may cut over 100 million pounds for policing the Olympics.

A recent report by the Center for Social Justice fears that limited available funding will prevent the London Olympics from delivering its promise, which pledges to transform the lives of Britain's most disadvantaged young people by raising awareness and participation in sport.

Robertson admits it's a struggle.

"It's a challenge for any city, for any country hosting Olympics. We're now in the process and this is entirely natural we have to quantify quite exactly what you can achieve. That's not always a comfortable or easy process particularly when you're tackling a record budget deficit. But I'm as confident as I can be at this moment that we'll be able to deliver the legacy."

A detailed legacy plan will be unveiled within the next few months as the Olympic Delivery Authority is on track to wind down its operations around the summer time.

On an optimistic note Robertson has confirmed 84 percent of the construction work has been completed, ahead of schedule.

For CRI, I'm Tu Yun in London.