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LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Crossrail, London's most ambitious transport project, took another step forward on Wednesday as the owner of the Canary Wharf business complex agreed to part fund a station on the line.
Canary Wharf Group (CWG) said it would contribute 150 million pounds ($221.2 million) to help build a station in the Docklands area of east London where its office complex is sited, giving a boost to the 15.9 billion pound Crossrail programme.
The development of a Docklands station on the planned Crossrail network means thousands of people in Canary Wharf, Britain's second-largest business district, will have direct access to Heathrow airport as well as to towns as far apart as Maidenhead to the west of London and Shenfield to the east.
"It is vitally important for transport infrastructure to improve to help London keep pace with rapidly developing cities in other parts of the world," CWG Chief Executive George Iacobescu said in a statement.
Crossrail will bring 1.5 million people within an hour of London's major business districts and will cut commuting times for many staff employed by Canary Wharf occupiers, such as HSBC , Morgan Stanley and Barclays.
CWG will design and build the Isle of Dogs station in Docklands for a fixed price of 500 million pounds. Building is due to start in early 2009, said a statement from CWG's majority owner Songbird Estates, and the station is scheduled to open in 2017.
CWG said it had planning approval for 9,300 square metres of retail space and a rooftop park above the underground station.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said the development would usher in a number of improvements.
"Once Crossrail arrives in Canary Wharf it will act as the catalyst for a further economic boost -- allowing the construction of more offices and other facilities," Johnson said in a statement. (Reporting by Sinead Cruise, Philip Waller and Dan Lalor; Editing by David Holmes and Sharon Lindores) ($1=.6754 Pound)