New West Ham stadium roof problems may have forced Balfour Beatty to seek more cash
Problems with the new roof planned for the West Ham stadium may have led beleaguered construction company Balfour Beatty back to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to ask for extra cash.
A spokesman for LLDC, which was established in 2012 by the Greater London Authority to regenerate the area in and around the Olympic Park, confirmed that “there are issues around strengthening work on the roof structures”, but said the project will be delivered on time for the Rugby World Cup matches due to take place in the stadium in the autumn of 2015.
He also denied that any further funding would be sought from taxpayers and added: “Any additional expenditure will be met through the contingencies that we already had in place.”
LLDC declined to comment on Construction Enquirer’s report that Balfour was seeking additional funding of £50m to complete the project, taking the total spend to over £200m.
A spokesman for E20 Stadium, the partnership formed between LLDC and Newham Council, said: “The project still has close to two years to run and we are in no doubt Balfour Beatty can deliver the programme as planned.”
Balfour, which last week appointed ex-Qinetiq boss Leo Quinn as CEO, recently brought KPMG in to review its construction operations, after issuing a £75m profit warning which was attributed to contractual difficulties in that division. The company directed all requests for comment to LLDC.
West Ham United declined to comment.