Greece will be 'ready' for Olympics

Greece have had pressure from the IOC

The organisers of the 2004 Olympics in Greece have announced they are confident their Olympic village will be prepared in time for the Athens Games.

Athens was under pressure to have their village ready by the February 2004 deadline, but Deputy Labour Minister Christos Protopappas told reporters after a meeting with officials that everything was under control.

"We must sprint, but we will be ready within the given deadlines," he said.

Protopappas added that the cost of the project would not exceed its original budget of 125 billion drachmas (around £220m).

Deadline

The Olympic village is expected to include 2,300 houses and will host more than 17,000 athletes and trainers, with construction due to begin in March 2001.

The International Olympic Committee has shown concern over Athens ability to have the venues ready in time and have asked the Greek officials to have their deadline brought forward.

"The Olympic Village is the largest project for the Games but we will meet the new deadline set by the IOC," said Athens 2004 organising committee president Gianna Angelopoulos.

However the French and Greek architects who are responsible for the design for the village have gone to court over what they see as inappropriate changes made to their plans.