Work Begins on USD80m Olympic Venue Linking Cable Car this Summer

Building work on a £50m (US$81.3m) cable car across the River Thames in London, linking two Olympic venues, will begin this summer, running the O2 arena in North Greenwich to the Excel exhibition centre at the Royal Victoria Docks.

Transport for London (TfL) warned that completing the connection in time for next year’s Olympics would be “an extremely challenging timeline for a complex project”, but claimed that it was “striving” to do exactly that.

It will be part of the Oyster card network but fares have yet to be set.

Having said last year that it would not be funding the cable car, TfL has decided to pay for the project upfront in order to help its “quick delivery”, a spokesman said.

The spokesman added that the company could not guarantee that some of the money would have to come from taxpayers, though he claimed it would be trying to recoup its costs.

The consortium which will build and run the cable car is to be led by Mace, the firm which worked on the London Eye and is currently constructing the Shard Tower at London Bridge, south-east London.

London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, said: “Gliding serenely through the air across the Thames will provide a truly sublime, bird’s eye view of our wonderful city.

“This innovative airborne travel link will be a vital component in the ongoing renaissance of a vibrant easterly quarter of the capital, providing a much-needed river crossing.”