Posted Jan 17, 2023, 6:48 PM
Intense home stretch for Solideo, the company responsible for delivering the equipment and fittings needed to organize the 2024 Olympic Games. At the end of the year, the public establishment, which supervises the construction of 64 structures, will have completed 89% of its program, amounting to 4.5 billion euros (total public and private competition), assured its executive director, Nicolas Ferrand, on Tuesday.
While the delivery of the equipment should take place no later than the first half of 2024, 3 operations have now been completed. These are the Vaires-sur-Marne nautical stadium where the rowing and canoe-kayak events will take place, the Aulnay-sous-Bois water park, a training site for swimmers, as well as a two schools in Le Bourget, Seine-Saint-Denis being the main beneficiary of the Solideo program (with 47 books).
Legacy
“In 2023, we deliver, we deliver, we deliver,” chants Nicolas Ferrand. 46 projects are underway, mobilizing 5,400 people, including 3,000 for the athletes’ village, the centerpiece (52 hectares) of the “heritage” component of Paris 2024. This new district near Saint-Denis, which will be able to accommodate 6,000 inhabitants and 6,000 employees, takes shape with the opening on 1is February of a student residence, which will serve as accommodation for the athletes during the Games.
In general, the delivery of the village buildings should take place at the end of the year, as should those of the media village currently under construction at Le Bourget. At the same time, those of the Marseille marina where the sailing events will take place will be completed. In addition, 2023 will also be marked by the completion, among other things, of the bridge linking Saint-Denis and L’Île-Saint-Denis.
Overall, Solideo is “absolutely on time”, says its executive director, who notes that only one site is slightly behind schedule due to the war in Ukraine. This is the construction – delayed by 3 to 4 months – of the Porte de la Chapelle Arena which is to host badminton competitions in particular. Its steel frame having been received in December instead of August 2022, the finalization of the equipment for the end of 2023 is proving to be “tight but tenable” according to Nicolas Ferrand.
mastery
Whereas the debate on the cost of the Olympic Games has recently been revived with the publication of a report by the Court of Auditors , the Executive Director General of Solideo claims to be “extremely serene about controlling costs”. The last budget revision – for 140 million euros – is explained by the inflation effect, he recalls.
The amount of public funding received by Solideo now stands at 1.71 billion euros, including 1.15 billion provided by the State. The public establishment still has a reserve of around 40 million to deal with possible changes, knowing that it still has to pass around thirty contracts. So far, the Paris 2024 organizing committee “has been extremely reasonable”. The number of modifications currently stands at 205, compared to some 6,000 for London 2012, specifies Nicolas Ferrand.
