Work will start on the foundations of the venue which, the ODA claim, will form a stunning "Gateway to the Games" in 2012 and in legacy, will provide world-class swimming facilities that London currently does not have.

 

The ODA also announced that it had delivered virtually all, and exceeded some. of its "Dig, Demolish, Design: Milestones to Beijing" and set out its next set of milestones for the year ahead, "The Big Build: Foundations".

 

The milestones hit by the ODA in the past year include:

 

· 192 buildings demolished

 

· Over one million cubic metres of soil excavated to shape the park

 

· Two six kilometre tunnels and 200km of cabling complete

 

· Contractors appointed to build the "Big Four"Olympic Park venues and design work well-advanced

 

· Construction started on the Olympic Stadium three months ahead of schedule

 

· Construction started two months early on Aquatics Centre

 

· Construction started on the Olympic Village.

 

ODA chairman John Armitt said: “Last April the ODA set out a series of challenging milestones we were aiming to achieve on the project by this summer, so that the public could judge the progress we are making.

 

“We have hit these deadlines in virtually every regard and exceeded them in some cases.

 

"We have started construction early on both the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre, which will form a fantastic gateway to the Games and provide permanent world-class swimming and diving facilities for the capital. Work is also underway on the Olympic Village.

 

“Today we are publishing 10 new milestones – ‘Big Build: Foundations’ - that we plan to achieve by 27 July 2009, just three years away from the London 2012 Games opening ceremony. 

 

"We have made a very solid start though realise that tough challenges will lie ahead.”

 

Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012, said: “It is important that London 2012 meets all major milestones and this demonstrates that we are making good progress.

 

"I am delighted that work is starting early on the Aquatics Centre.

 

"This is a major venue on the Olympic Park, which will provide London and the South East with much needed world class swimming and diving facilities for both elite athletes and for community usage after the Games.

 

“This is the year that construction starts in earnest on the Olympic Park and it is a fantastic sight to see.

 

"In four years time London will have a world class Aquatics Centre, a state of the art VeloPark and a new athletics stadium.

 

"These facilities will be at the heart of a wonderful summer of sport in 2012 and for elite and community use for many generations.

 

"I hope that this will inspire more people to take up sport and that it will lead to more British medal successes in the years to come.”

 

Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell said: “The Aquatics Centre will be one of the most recognisable venues in the world and be seen by billons of people. 

 

“It will also provide desperately needed swimming and diving facilities for elite and community use and leave a lasting sporting and social legacy that will benefit east London and beyond for many years.

 

“The ODA should also be congratulated on delivering virtually all its major milestones to Beijing .

 

"This should inspire confidence as we move in to the next crucial big build stage of the project.”

 

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said:  "Just a few weeks after work started on the Stadium, London and the UK can be proud that we have hit another milestone well ahead of schedule.

 

"In the coming months and years, we will see a spectacular Olympic Park rise from the ground, culminating in 2012 when the world will witness the most spectacular celebration of sporting achievement in our wonderful Capital city."

 

Speaking at the start of construction on the Aquatics Centre site today, Jessica Williams, a 14-year-old diver from the Crystal Palace 2012 Olympic Fast Track Team who has been travelling to Sheffield to train, said: “The London 2012 diving pool will be the best the world with a dry diving gym, water harnesses and a bubble machine for learning hard dives.

 

"Being a London diver I am so lucky that I will be one of the first divers to practice on the boards when it opens. 

 

“Living in London , I hear about the Olympics every day and it is such an inspiration for me and my team mates. 

 

"This year, after winning nationals, I was invited to the England squad and I am already working hard to secure my place on the 2012 Olympic diving team.”

 

Milestones for the year ahead include the removal of 52 pylons currently scarring the site as power switches underground, the completion of the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre foundations, the completion of the works at the Weymouth and Portland sailing venue and work underway on the foundations of the VeloPark and International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre. 

 

A full list of the new milestones - "Big Build: Foundations" is in a document downloadable from www.london2012.com

 

Aquatics Centre key facts:

 

· The Zaha Hadid-designed Aquatics Centre is located in the south of the Olympic Park and will be the main "Gateway into the Games’", hosting swimming, diving, synchronised swimming, water polo finals and the swimming discipline of the Modern Pentathlon

 

· The Aquatics Centre will have a capacity of 17,500 during the Games, reducing to a maximum of 2,500 in legacy, with the ability to add 1,000 for major events, and provide two 50 metre swimming pools, a diving pool and dry diving area - facilities that London does not have at present

 

· Eleven industrial buildings have been demolished on the 55,000 square metre site

 

· Around 130,000 tonnes of soil have been dug out on of what was one of the more challenging and complex areas of the Olympic Park contaminated with pollutants including petrol, oil, tar, solvents and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead

 

· Four skeletons were discovered and removed from a prehistoric settlement discovered on the site of the Aquatic Centre

 

· 140,000 tonnes of clean soil has been brought from other areas of the Olympic Park to prepare for construction to start

 

· Planning permission has been achieved and Balfour Beatty has recently been appointed to build the Aquatics Centre and huge land-bridge that forms the roof of the training pool and the main pedestrian access to the Olympic Park. Construction work will be complete in 2011 for test events ahead of the Games

 

· The sweeping roof, which is 160m long and 95m at its widest point, is an innovative 2800 tonne steel structure with a riking and robust aluminium covering resting on three supports just 1m squared

 

· The design team is currently considering different types of timber cladding for the internal ceiling of the venue and the sides of the roof supports. The timber selected will be tested over the next twelve months to ensure it works both for the Games and in legacy before installation in 2010

 

· The budget for the Aquatics Centre is £242 million and the budget for the land-bridge that will also form part of the roof of the venue is £61 million. The total of £303 million has not changed and is within the ODA’s baseline budget as announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport last December.