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His first stop was ExCeL, host to boxing, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling events for next year鈥檚 Olympic games. This international conference centre is set to contribute 拢1.6 billion to the economy in 2011 alone and will support 38,000 jobs. Mr Neill also saw construction of the new 拢65 million hotel next door, already fully booked for the Olympics.

At the University of East London鈥檚 Docklands campus he saw how they were developing students鈥� skills and supporting entrepreneurship with their Knowledge Dock Business Centre. He met entrepreneur Jim Shaikh, who started Yoomi - a self-warming baby bottle business - at the centre and is now expanding into America and other international markets, projected turnover is 拢1m per annum.

At London City Airport the minister heard how it鈥檚 supporting the local job market with over 60%聽of its employees from within聽5 miles of the airport. Over the last 18 months the airport鈥檚 award winning Take Off Into Work Programme has helped get 130 people back into work from long term unemployment.

Bob Neill said:

鈥淰isiting London鈥檚 Docklands has let me see first hand how the private-sector continues to be a real driving force behind local growth in the Thames Gateway. The expansion of ExCeL as a world-class conference venue, where 65%聽of employees come from East London, is set to benefit by the UK economy by 拢1.6 billion this year alone.

鈥淭he first class City Airport鈥檚 investment plans will create more than 2,500 new jobs over the next 20 years, and London鈥檚 newest university is helping to create a new generation of entrepreneurs who, with the support of the university鈥檚 award winning business incubator - the Knowledge Dock - are building their own local businesses, from creative industries and e-learning to bio-technology and healthcare.鈥�