October 23, 2012 - 15:51 AMT
London Olympics cost 400 mln pounds – British govt.

The British government says the London Olympics cost around 400 million pounds ($600 million) less than expected.

According to AP, the final financial report for the games projects that the cost will be 8.921 billion pounds ($14.285 billion) from an original budget of 9.298 billion pounds ($14.878 billion).

Savings came from a drop in security, transport and construction costs for the Olympics and Paralympics.

As a result of those savings and the unused part of the contingency budget, 480 million pounds ($770 million) is left unspent.

The government says this will cover "risks" linked to the revamping of the Olympic Park.

Olympics minister Hugh Robertson says "it is a significant achievement to deliver this large and complex program on time and under budget."