THE Olympic village is set to benefit from a £225m public sector loan.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said it has yet to decide if it will accept the public sector European Investment Bank's offer.

About £1billion was anticipated to be raised from the private sector for the village's construction in Stratford, but the ODA has said the recession has made raising private finance difficult.

In September it said it had secured only half of the money needed for the athletes' village and media centre.

After the Games the village will become part of the Stratford City regeneration scheme, which will include a shopping centre and up to 3,300 new homes.

The original budget for the 2012 Olympics was £3.4bn but this was increased to £9.3bn last year.