London 2012 stadium ahead of schedule - Coe

London Olympics chief Lord Sebastian Coe said on Saturday that construction work on the main stadium for the 2012 games was running four months ahead of schedule.

"The stadium will be completed by June 2011, we're four months ahead of schedule as it stands and that's crucial because we'll want to test it," Lord Coe said at the European Athletics Association's congress. The stadium in east London is dedicated to track and field events.

"Financially we're in good shape and construction-wise we're slightly ahead of the game."

Coe said sponsorship and commercial partners for the 2012 Olympics have now passed the half a billion pound mark (567 million euros, 742 million dollars).

"We have a stretch target of about 680 million to 700 million pounds from the private sector and we've reached, just about a month ago, the 500 million mark.

"The final 180 million will of course be tough, but that's tough in any organising committee and that's tough under any economic circumstances," the chairman of the London Olympic Organising Committee added.

"Stretch" targets set very ambitious objectives rather than those that are regarded as easily planned and attainable.

However, Coe acknowledged added pressure from the financial crisis and credit shortage.

London has had to draw on a public contingency reserve for building work on the Olympic village while talks take place with cash-strapped private investors.

"We should have reached a solution to that within the next month or so," Coe told athletics chiefs from Europe. "My commitment today is that village will be as good as any village the athletes have stayed in," the former middle distance Olympic medallist added.

The village is meant to be turned into housing after the games.

London Mayor Boris Johnson vowed last month that the 2012 London Olympics budget would not rise beyond a now projected 9.3 billion pounds.

The British government said recently that the cost of the Olympic stadium had risen by 10 percent in the space of a year to 547 million pounds and other venues would also cost more to build than initially estimated.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Sunday, AFP