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Mipim DISPATCH: London Mayor Unveils $19B for Infrastructure Upgrades

CANNES-Days after New York City made its bid for the 2012 Olympics Games, London Mayor Ken Livingstone comes to Cannes with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to reveal a heavily funded, public/private infrastructure package. The promise, they say is bright, Olympics or no.

By John Salustri | Updated on March 08, 2005

CANNES-Mipim kicked off in grand style yesterday with London Mayor Ken Livingstone unveiling a 10-billion-pound ($19.3-billion) infrastructure improvement package for the city. “The funds are in place,” he told the assembled crowd at the Palais des Festivals here.

It was a stark contrast to the post-mortem of last week’s tour of New York City conducted by Olympic decisionmakers, where the focus of new development seemed to be on winning the Games. Livingstone, on the other hand, shrugged off the possibility that another city might win the Games. “We want to win the bid,” he stated, “but this funding is there for future potential. The Olympics are an add-on to what we would have done in London anyway.”

What is going to be done is a series of projects including additional rail lines to unify the sprawl and a continuation of affordable and market-rate housing among other initiatives. Livingstone noted that last year some 30% more housing was constructed in London than the year before. That surge is now guaranteed to continue.

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