Olympic Aquatic centre costs treble

By Marc Jones and Avril Ormsby

LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of building the showpiece aquatics centre for the 2012 London Olympics has trebled, organisers said on Tuesday, announcing UK company Balfour Beatty would build the venue.

The centre, designed by Baghdad-born architect Zaha Hadid, caused controversy when its stingray-shaped roof was scaled down and redesigned and Olympics minister Tessa Jowell criticised the costs in 2005.

The building will now cost 242 million pounds ($480 million), the Olympic Delivery Authority said on Tuesday, up from an original 73 million.

A bridge connecting it to the main park will cost another 61 million pounds.

The new price includes inflation and VAT costs, which the original price did not, as well as the price of scaling down the building for use after the Games.

The total bill for the Games has risen to 9.3 billion pounds from original estimates of 2.4 billion. The ODA said the price was broadly in line with scaled up costings laid out last year.

After the Games, 17,500 temporary seats at the venue will be removed, leaving a swimming, diving and water sports arena with a capacity of 2,500-3,500.

Builder Balfour Beatty was the only company left in the bidding after France's Eiffel and Germany's Hochtief withdrew.