2010 Games budget said back on track

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 14 (Reuters) Organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, who are struggling with rising building costs, said today the revised budget is working and construction is on schedule.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) released the first of what will be quarterly budget updates on the Winter Games, a move the group said was intended to demonstrate they would be accountable to Canadian taxpayers.

The committee's finances have been under scrutiny since it announced in February that venue construction was expected to cost C580 million dollars, up from the C0 million projected when the event was awarded to the Pacific coast city.

''With approximately two-thirds of our venue development budget now committed, we remain on track to deliver the 2010 Games venue program for C580 million dollars'' VANOC's chief executive, John Furlong, said in a statement.

VANOC said it remains optimistic the federal government and the government of British Columbia will pay an additional C0 million in costs. The province has agreed, but Ottawa is still weighing the request.

REUTERS SY BD2347