The foundations of the London 2012 handball arena are complete, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has announced.

Work on the 7,000-seater arena began in July, two months early, and is set to be completed by summer 2011, ready for test events.

It will host qualifying games for the 2012 handball competition as well as modern pentathlon, fencing and goalball during the Paralympics.

Two hundred concrete columns have been drilled 25 metres into the ground to form the foundations, with 55 pile caps and 550 metres of concrete ground beams.

The venue has started coming out of the ground with the lifting into place of thirteen of 30 concrete walls, which are pre-fabricated in Ireland and will support the upper tiers of the seating.

The 10-metre-high walls sit on top of a 300-tonne concrete slab.

After the Games, it will become a multi-sports venue with retractable seating for around 6,000 spectators and flexible facilities catering for training and competition at all levels for indoor sports including basketball, wheelchair basketball, boxing, handball, badminton, judo, netball, futsal and volleyball.

ODA chief executive David Higgins said a new webcam - at www.london2012.com - of the building work has been installed so the public can watch the arena coming out of the ground as construction of the permanent Olympic Park venues enters "its toughest year".

He said: "We are right on track to deliver a distinctive handball arena that will provide a great experience for competitors and spectators during the Games and offer a new sustainable and flexible facility for local people to enjoy a wide range of sports in legacy."

(The End)