Courtesy LOCOG

London Olympic Games officials kept within budget established in 2007, officials say.

With construction work at an end and just a few weeks before the 27 July opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the U.K. government published the latest accounting for venues and infrastructure costs. The report shows a saving of nearly 5% below baseline estimates made five years ago.

The final cost for work by the Olympic Delivery Authority, charged with procuring the venues and infrastructure, is now $10.5 billion. According to the Dept. of Culture Media and Sport, $740 million of contingencies remain unspent in the global budget, including security and other costs, which has been held at $14.5-billion.

Venues, mainly at the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London, are now costed at $1.6 billion. The demountable main stadium accounted for $666 million, 14% below the 2007 forecast. With its large temporary banks of seats, the Aquatics centre, designed by London-based architect Zaha Hadid, came in some 17% over the original budget, at $390 million.

At $2.8 billion, site preparation and infrastructure work represented the largest investment, coming in 13% below the 2007 figure.